Risk factors for race-day fatality in flat racing Thoroughbreds in Great Britain (2000 to 2013)
A key focus of the racing industry is to reduce the number of race-day events where horses die suddenly or are euthanased due to catastrophic injury. The objective of this study was therefore to determine risk factors for race-day fatalities in Thoroughbred racehorses, using a cohort of all horses p...
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Published in | PloS one Vol. 13; no. 3; p. e0194299 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Public Library of Science
21.03.2018
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | A key focus of the racing industry is to reduce the number of race-day events where horses die suddenly or are euthanased due to catastrophic injury. The objective of this study was therefore to determine risk factors for race-day fatalities in Thoroughbred racehorses, using a cohort of all horses participating in flat racing in Great Britain between 2000 and 2013. Horse-, race- and course-level data were collected and combined with all race-day fatalities, recorded by racecourse veterinarians in a central database. Associations between exposure variables and fatality were assessed using logistic regression analyses for (1) all starts in the dataset and (2) starts made on turf surfaces only. There were 806,764 starts in total, of which 548,571 were on turf surfaces. A total of 610 fatalities were recorded; 377 (61.8%) on turf. In both regression models, increased firmness of the going, increasing racing distance, increasing average horse performance, first year of racing and wearing eye cover for the first time all increased the odds of fatality. Generally, the odds of fatality also increased with increasing horse age whereas increasing number of previous starts reduced fatality odds. In the 'all starts' model, horses racing in an auction race were at 1.46 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-2.01) times the odds of fatality compared with horses not racing in this race type. In the turf starts model, horses racing in Group 1 races were at 3.19 (95% CI 1.71-5.93) times the odds of fatality compared with horses not racing in this race type. Identification of novel risk factors including wearing eye cover and race type will help to inform strategies to further reduce the rate of fatality in flat racing horses, enhancing horse and jockey welfare and safety. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Competing Interests: SMR received funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board, project number vet/prj/769. AJS is employed by the British Horse Racing Authority. YMC and KLPV are employed by the Royal Veterinary College, London. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the 'author contributions' section. None of the authors declare a competing interest in relation to these funding sources. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Current address: Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR. |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 1932-6203 |
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0194299 |