Tracking Injuries On Track

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Tracking Injuries On Track

• Status of the development of a standardized
  injury reporting system at North American
  Thoroughbred racetracks

Mary C. Scollay-Ward, DVM Senior Association
Veterinarian Calder Race Course / Gulfstream Park
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Objectives

• Quanitate
• Racetrack injuries
• Type
• Frequency
• Outcome
• Identify
• Markers for Horses at Increased Risk
• Improve efficiency of pre-race inspections
• Trainer accountability
• Improve
• Injury management and prevention

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Case Criteria (employed by reporting
regulatory veterinarians)
Horses observed to be lame on the racetrack
before, during and
immediately following a race
Horses observed to be lame in Detention Barn
post-race Horses scratched
for unsoundness at pre-race exam
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Horse identification (optional)
Horse-specific information
Injury-specific information
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17 07 034
Confidential racetrack code
Year
Individual case
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If horse identification can be reported,
information is retrieved from Jockey Club
Information databaseform completion abbreviated
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Price factor Claiming price
Bottom claiming
price
Example Claiming price of injured horse is
25,000. Bottom claiming price
in that category at track is 5,000.
Price factor 5.0
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LF Fracture Distal Limb Ses-biax
Comminuted
LF Soft tissue Flexor tendon SDF/DDF
Rupture
Use of standardized keywords in describing
injuries
LF Joint Fetlock
Disarticulation closed
RF Other
Grabbed 1/4

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Triage Scoring 0 No lameness observed on
track I Grade III or lower lameness no
presumptive diagnosis II gtGrade III lameness no
presumptive diagnosis III Mild to moderate limb
instability in 1 plane closed injury IV Severe
instability in 1 plane closed injury V Limb
instability in 2 or more planes / loss of column
of support (open or closed) open fracture /
joint capsule / tendon sheath
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Prognosis and Outcome-- not always consistent
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Participating racetracks

• Albuquerque Downs
• Arlington Park
• Aqueduct
• Belmont Park
• Beulah Park
• Calder Race Course
• Canterbury Downs
• Charlestown Races
• Churchill Downs
• Colonial Downs
• Delaware Park
• Ellis Park
• Emerald Downs
• Fonner Park
• Gulfstream Park

Indiana Downs Hastings Park Hawthorne
Racecourse Hoosier Park Hollywood
Park Keeneland Lone Star Park Meadowlands Monmouth
Park Penn National Philadelphia Park Prairie
Meadows Saratoga Suffolk Downs Turfway Yavapai
Downs
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Racing Injuries
High profile events
Training Injuries
Low profile events Economic impact
? Relationship to racing injuries ?
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Injury Reporting by Practicing Veterinarians
Case Selection Criteria Horse which veterinarian
advises to be withdrawn from training for 10 or
more days due to musculoskeletal injury sustained
racing or training
Confidentiality/ Anonymity
Horse, trainer, veterinarian not identified
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Responsible Use of Information

• National Statistics will be made public
• Individual racetracks data will be returned to
  submitting veterinarian as spread sheet file

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Access to Data

• Researchers desiring access to data will submit
  proposal to review panel

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1 Year Goal

• Increase number of participant racetracks
• Generate composite statistics
• Form advisory committee
• Review reporting format
• Identify research needs

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2 Year Goal

• Expansion of data analysis
• Identification of markers for horses at increased
  risk

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3 Year Goal

• Confidential, on-line report submission with data
  automatically entered into database