| Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | Contact: Shannon Luce 859.224.2716 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Jockey Club Releases Data from the Equine Injury Database for 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to the initial data analysis from the 16th year of reporting to the Equine Injury Database (EID), the rate of fatal injury in 2024 was 1.11 per 1,000 starts, the lowest rate since the EID began in 2009. This is the fifth consecutive year that the rate of fatal injury has been below 1.5. The rate of fatal injury decreased 15.9% from 2023 and has decreased 44.5% since the first statistics were published from the EID in 2009. Analysis of the EID was provided by Dr. Euan Bennet (University of Glasgow) and by Professor Tim Parkin (University of Bristol), who has consulted on the EID since its inception. “It is remarkable and indeed gratifying to see the sustained improvement in these figures,” Parkin said. “It is a credit to all involved in the industry that such a significant improvement in the risk of fatal injury can be achieved off the back of the establishment of the EID and, of course, alongside lots of hard work from very many parties.” Based on the 2024 data, 99.89% of flat racing starts at the racetracks participating in the EID were completed without a fatality.
Key statistics from the 2024 analysis are as follows (figures represent the incidence of racing fatality per 1,000 starts):
For trends of the EID since 2009, please visit jockeyclub.com/pdfs/eid_16_year_tables.pdf. Since March 2012, racetracks have been able to voluntarily publish their statistics from the EID on The Jockey Club website. The racetracks that publish their EID statistics reported racing fatalities per 1,000 starts of 0.88 as compared to 1.27 for those that do not publish. In addition, racetracks in the U.S. not covered under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) had a rate of 1.76 per 1,000 starts. As reported by a HISA press release in late February, the 2024 racing-related fatality rate at racetracks subject to HISA rules was 0.90 per 1,000 starts, which aligns with the EID data. HISA reports race-related fatalities after regulatory review. The EID statistics are based on injuries that resulted in fatalities within 72 hours from the date of the race. The statistics are for official Thoroughbred races only and exclude steeplechase races. Summary statistics for the EID are subject to change due to a number of considerations, including reporting timeliness. All data entered into the EID goes through a multilevel quality control process to ensure the data is completely and accurately reported. The list of racetracks participating in the EID and detailed statistics from those tracks that voluntarily publish their results can be found at jockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=Advocacy&area=11. Throughout 2024, approximately 99% of all Thoroughbred starts were included in the EID. The Equine Injury Database, conceived at the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation’s first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, was launched by The Jockey Club in July 2008 and seeks to identify the frequencies, types, and outcomes of racing injuries using a standardized format that generates valid statistics, identifies markers for horses at increased risk of injury, and serves as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries. The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for Thoroughbreds in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. A New York not-for-profit organization governed by a board of stewards, The Jockey Club has offices in New York and Kentucky. Profits from the commercial subsidiaries of The Jockey Club support investments in initiatives to improve the health, safety, and welfare of Thoroughbreds and to market and grow the sport. Among its many supported initiatives are America’s Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), OwnerView ownerview.com), and the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (tjctip.com). Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||