‘Risk of fatal injury is heading in a sustained downward direction’ – record year for US safety

Thoroughbred Racing – The 2022 figure of 1.25 fatalities per 1,000 starts is record low since tracks began reporting to the EID en masse in 2009.

USA: Initial data analysis from the 14th year of reporting to the Equine Injury Database (EID) shows a decrease in the rate of fatal injury in 2022 (1.25 fatalities per 1,000 starts) compared to 2021 (1.39 fatalities per 1,000 starts).

This is the fourth consecutive year that the rate has decreased, and it is the third consecutive year in which the rate has been below 1.5 fatalities per 1,000 starts. It is the first time ever that the rate has been below 1.3 fatalities per 1,000 starts.

Analysis provided by Professor Tim Parkin (University of Bristol), who has consulted on the EID since its inception, and Dr. Euan Bennet (University of Glasgow), also shows historic low rates of fatality on each surface type, for three-year-old horses, and for race distances longer than eight furlongs.

“The data shows that since 2009, the risk of fatal injury during racing has declined by 37.5%, which is statistically significant,” Parkin said. “The overall downward trends are testament to the benefits of an evidence-based approach to safety, which is only possible thanks to the EID.”