Twelve horses passed away in the first five weeks of Churchill Downs’ spring meet, including seven before the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs is moving in the right path to make the racetrack a safer place for the horses after public outcry called for reform.
Aside from the purse payouts to all race finishers and the suspension of incentives like trainer start bonuses, Churchill Downs announced further safety measures on Thursday. Officials at Churchill Downs say they’ll keep discussing funding options with the horsemen.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and Churchill Downs’ equine vets met behind closed doors in the HISA office on West Main Street.
“Everyone is committed to figuring out what’s happening. Everyone is committed to stopping it to the extent it can be stopped,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus.
The 2023 Spring Meet is still underway, and there are rising requests to temporarily halt horse racing at Churchill Downs as inquiries into the concerning trend continue.
Churchill stated every horse running at its track will be limited to four races over an eight-week period.
The notion of Churchill suspending live racing during the review 메이저사이트 period was explored, according to HISA officials who had earlier in the week made similar claim. Churchill hasn’t held a race since Monday, but there are four days of live racing scheduled for the track through Sunday.
The ineligibility measure impacts horses losing by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts. They cannot race at Churchill Downs until approved by Farmer to return.
NEW RULES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS
- A suspension of track-based rewards such trainer start bonuses and purse payout distributions to all finishers, from first to last. The top five finishers will now be the only ones eligible for purse payouts.
- limiting each horse to four starts during the course of a rolling eight-week period;
- Criteria for disqualification due to low performance. Horses that lose by more than 12 lengths in five straight starts are not permitted to compete at Churchill Downs until the Equine Medical Director gives them permission to do so.
The Authority’s recommendations may even call for a temporary suspension of racing at the track until equine specialists are able to determine why the horse deaths are occurring.
Churchill Downs is in charge of stopping racing; HISA lacks the authority to do so. If that is the advice, however, HISA might stop the track from broadcasting the races. Before live racing at the track begins on Thursday, HISA intends to release its conclusions 토토 from the emergency summit and offer recommendations by the end of the day on Wednesday.
“HISA continues to monitor this situation closely and will evaluate any additional next steps as appropriate,” read the organization’s statement.