2023 Preakness: Worry over deaths pervades as horse racing world turns its eyes to Baltimore (2023)

To a person, they cross their fingers or say a small prayer every time a major race draws near: Please, please do not let a horse breakdown.

Those who love thoroughbred racing agree that among all the difficulties facing their sport, none is more existentially threatening than public dismay over the deaths of racehorses. This disquiet peaked again last week after seven horses died or suffered fatal injuries in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, the most-watched event on the American racing calendar. Questions of racetrack safety will remain on the front burner as those scrutinizing the sport turn their gaze to Baltimore and Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.

As the gloomy headlines emerged one after another from Kentucky, it hardly mattered that the rate of racing-related deaths dropped 37.5% from 2009 to 2022 or that state racing officials took swift action to suspend the trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr., who had two horses die suddenly and inexplicably. They also scratched would-be Derby favorite Forte over the objections of his co-owner because a veterinarian was concerned about a bruise on the colt’s foot.

These might be signs of progress for those who know the sport intimately, but many casual fans saw only the death toll, which for them overshadowed Mage’s victory in the first jewel of the Triple Crown. Perhaps they thought back to the 2019 crisis at Santa Anita Park, where 30 horses died in one season, threatening the future of California racing. Maryland last month faced its own crisis when five horses suffered fatal accidents in racing or training at Laurel Park, forcing a temporary shutdown as track operators and horsemen disagreed sharply about safety conditions before ultimately agreeing to act on an outside consultant’s maintenance recommendations.

“You look at [the deaths] in the context of number of races and starts, and it’s the smallest it’s been in decades because our protocols are better,” said Alan Foreman, general counsel for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and a key voice in the Mid-Atlantic industry’s efforts to reduce fatalities. “But then you have a cluster like we had with the entire world looking at Churchill Downs, and it’s hard to explain, it’s hard to justify.”

Trainers are more hardened to the risks of the sport than casual fans but recognize the alarm caused by the string of deaths in Kentucky. “That’s too many,” said veteran Shug McGaughey, who will saddle Perform for the Preakness. “We need to be very transparent about what’s going on. I’ve got friends outside racing, my wife does too, and they’re texting, ‘What’s going on?’ They don’t want to hear that, so it’s something we have to address.”

Animal rights advocates, who have long criticized thoroughbred racing for its insular culture and resistance to change, said the deaths in Kentucky were another indication of the major reforms still needed to improve safety.

“The moon shot for the industry is to achieve a zero tolerance for on-track deaths,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “A ban on reckless doping is just one key element of getting to zero deaths. It will also require breeding of horses for soundness, keeping unfit horses out of competition and a commitment to making proper veterinary assessments in real-time to safeguard the well-being of the animals.”

In response to the fatal breakdowns at Laurel last month, Kathy Guillermo, senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called for a switch from dirt to synthetic racing surfaces: “The horsemen and state officials clamoring for an independent review of the dirt track … are pretending that they don’t know which surface is the safest, but everyone in racing knows: It’s not dirt — it’s synthetic. Statistics consistently show, year after year, that the death rate on synthetic tracks is significantly lower than on any other surface.”

Industry stakeholders are hoping federal oversight from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will give the sport more credibility in the long run. The authority, which has faced opposition from horsemen’s groups in courtrooms around the country, began implementing its racetrack safety program last July and will implement its drug testing program starting later this month, after the Preakness.

HISA protocols were in effect at the Kentucky Derby, where two horses, Chloe’s Dream and Freezing Point, suffered fatal injuries during undercard races, bringing the total deaths to seven in 10 days. “Churchill Downs has been cooperating with HISA since its inception and is in full compliance with our rules and processes,” the authority said in a statement. “On the morning of each race, every horse undergoes a hands-on inspection and is observed in motion outside their stall. A team of … regulatory veterinarians also views each horse in the paddock, during the post parade and as they approach and load into the starting gate. If a horse is deemed unfit to race by the regulatory veterinarians, it will be scratched, as was the case in a number of circumstances this week. Both Chloe’s Dream and Freezing Point passed all inspections without incident.”

[As 148th Preakness Stakes approaches, a grim trend greets the future of Maryland thoroughbred racing]

The same protocols will be in effect during Preakness week, and horsemen, track operators and analysts agree that racing deaths can be reduced with diligent veterinary checks and deeper analysis of track surfaces. But they say there’s a harder truth underlying these efforts: Horses will continue to die from racing and training injuries.

Setting aside the sudden deaths of Joseph’s horses, which Churchill Downs president Bill Mudd called “highly unusual,” Kentucky officials found “no discernible pattern detected in the injuries sustained” in the run-up to the Derby.

It’s often difficult to pinpoint a single cause for clusters of deaths, said Foreman, who a decade ago led an inquiry into a series of 21 fatal breakdowns at New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack that led to new safety protocols.

“When you see a cluster of injuries or fatalities, it’s a red flag, and that’s what you have to be alert to,” he said. “It’ll be important to see what the facts are when they come out, and I’m sure Churchill is all over this. … I don’t care what it is; you don’t see a cluster of fatalities because horsemen have changed their practices or they’re illegally medicating. You really have to dive in and see what’s going on.”

HISA on Friday announced it will investigate the medical and performance histories of each horse that died along with track conditions and fatality rates at Churchill, with the federal authority’s findings to be released to the public. “As we move forward from this collective low, I hope it is together, united with a renewed commitment to what matters most: the safety of our horses and riders,” HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said in a statement announcing the inquiry.

In the absence of a clear explanation, those who love the sport will trudge toward the Preakness hoping for a week free of tragedy.

“You hold your breath,” NBC analyst Randy Moss said, describing his fear that a horse could breakdown in any major race he covers. “It’s impossible to get it to zero. It’s just part of the breed, and unfortunately, it’s a hot-button issue right now, understandably so. There’s no explanation that I know of for what happened at Churchill Downs. … It defies explanation, and that’s one of the maddening, frustrating things for people that love the sport.”

Maddening too is the sport’s capacity to be its own worst enemy. Even as industry leaders responded to the deaths in Kentucky by touting some of the progress they’ve made, the New York Times reported Tuesday that Forte, the scratched would-be Derby favorite, failed a postrace drug test in September, a matter that was not adjudicated by New York regulators until Thursday (they disqualified Forte from his victory in the 2022 Hopeful Stakes and suspended trained Todd Pletcher for 10 days).

Critics have long said such violations, paired with a sluggish justice process, undermine public confidence. Congress created HISA in part to address this very problem.

In Maryland, racetrack deaths have not prompted widespread calls for the industry to be shut down, but those who support racing say painful weeks such as the recent ones at Laurel at Churchill Downs should prompt sober reflection on how to improve safety.

“I hope that the new federal law has a positive impact in terms of preventing the loss of the horses,” said state Del. Sandy Rosenberg, whose district includes Pimlico. “And I know it’s an issue that is of concern to all of the parties involved here as evidenced by the concerns of the horsemen when Laurel had to be shut down. So it shines a light and justifiably so and I would hope that [with] a combination of the federal and state efforts that we make a real reduction in the harm to the horses.”

Four horses have suffered fatal injuries this year in races at Laurel (10 died from racing injuries in 2022) while six more have died from injuries in training.

Officials from 1/ST Racing, which owns and operates Laurel and Pimlico, point to the reforms they instituted after the 2019 explosion of deaths at Santa Anita Park (which the company also owns) as a hopeful demonstration of the improvements that can still be made.

Asked for a statement on its preparations to make Pimlico as safe as possible for the Preakness, however, the company had not responded as of Friday afternoon.

Baltimore Sun reporter Hayes Gardner contributed to this article.

148th Preakness Stakes

Pimlico Race Course

Saturday

Post time: Approximately 6:50 p.m.

TV: Chs. 11, 4