The news has not been good for horse racing in America. More than 20 horses have died this year alone at Santa Anita Racetrack in California. But racetracks across the country have not escaped what is emerging as a horrific stain on the sport of racing.
Consider the data from Horseracing Wrongs, a not-for-profit organization with the stated objective of ending the sport. Using Freedom of Information requests, they’ve identified 71 horses that have died during races or in training this year alone (through the first week in April) at racetracks in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, West Virginia, Louisiana and California.
The statistics are shocking. Sadly, though, they are not aberrations. The industry is wrestling with forces both within and outside it. “For far too long, cheaters have been abusing the system and the horses are most often the ones to suffer,” said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club. “It is particularly disturbing that there is little out-of-competition drug testing in the United States. U.S. horse racing lags far behind international standards. It’s time we joined the rest of the world in putting in place the best measures to protect the health and safety of our equine athletes.”
Some have compared the prolific use of pharmaceuticals on race horses to an arms race. As methods of detection get better, the strategies deployed to mask the drugs grow more sophisticated.
But horse racing is struggling to retain customers and attract new ones; and there is a growing emphasis in the industry and in Washington on correcting the problems that have cost so many equine lives and ensuring there is a legislative remedy to restore integrity to horseracing.
Horseracing in the Crosshairs
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Gina Rarick proposed several radical solutions to the dilemmas facing America’s horse racing industry. Rarick, a racehorse trainer in Maisons-Lafitte, France, suggests that everything—from the training, to the pharmaceutical treatment, to the actual footing on which horses race—needs to be fixed.
“American racing can pull itself from the crosshairs, but there needs to be a huge overall change, and fast.” She says there are fundamental differences between American and European protocols in the way racing is organized and the way horses are raised and trained. “The major difference between American racing and the sport in the rest of the world, including here in France, is the excessive use of medications, practically from birth.” She says that the need to get expensive young horses racing as soon as possible leads to excessive medication to compensate for over-training horses whose bones have not fully developed.
“They use steroids to add bulk and sheen, and bisphosphonates to stabilize the bone structure. But these bisphosphonates also limit new bone growth, impairing the young horse’s ability to adapt to the stresses of training and racing.”
Rarick says that racetracks in the United States are significantly different from those in Europe. They are shorter, tighter and flatter. The horses run in one direction. “In Europe, the bulk of racing is done on turf, regardless of whether it rains. Racecourses are laid out to be run clockwise, counterclockwise or in a straight line, often over rolling terrain.” She explains that racing that is on dirt is actually done on synthetic tracks made of a combination of sand and fibers. “There is a full program of racing at longer distances to balance out the sprint program. For the most part, horses are trained off-track, in training centers or on farms.”
Banning the Bisphosphonates
In March a coalition of racing organizations and stakeholders met at Delaware Park. The group included 30 organizations, from state gaming commissions, to breeders’ associations, racetracks and casinos. The organizations were from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
They agreed to an extraordinary new mandate governing the Mid-Atlantic region. “The entire Mid-Atlantic region will impose, and strongly urges all Thoroughbred industry stakeholders and regulators to support, the enactment of an immediate prohibition on the use of bisphosphonates in all horses under the age of 4, unless and until the scientific and veterinary community determines that the use of such drugs does not compromise the health and welfare of the horse. The use of bisphosphonates in horses 4 years old and older should be limited to only those horses who have been diagnosed with navicular disease by a veterinarian and for whom the use of such drugs is warranted.”
What are these drugs? Bisphosphonates were developed to treat loss of bone density—in humans. Humans of a certain age whose decline in bone density leaves them vulnerable to devastating fractures. There are reasons for older humans to use drugs to build bone density. Less clear is why young horses would need the intervention of these drugs.
The “unconventional” use of these drugs has become so controversial that Dechra, the company that manufactures OSPHOS, a veterinary version of bisphosphonate, has issued a statement clarifying the drug’s appropriate use.
Calling the off-label use of OSPHOS “morally reprehensible,” the company explained that the drug was developed for treating navicular syndrome in horses older than four. “Dechra firmly stands behind the product when used according to label instructions and is proud to provide the equine veterinary profession with a scientifically-founded treatment to address navicular syndrome in horses, which is one of the most common lameness issues in the adult horse.”
Dechra’s statement reiterated that the drug was approved by the FDA for treatment of navicular syndrome in adult horses, and that the company had not tested its efficacy on horses younger than four.
Legislating Integrity?
For years racing insiders have pushed for a way to sort out the tangle of state laws that govern racing. Horse breeding is a major industry—as well as a compelling tourist attraction—in many states. In some states, certain drugs may be given to horses on race day; in others the practice is banned. In some states, certain drugs are banned; in others the same drugs are legal.
Proliferating coverage of the tragic deaths of horses at Santa Anita and other tracks is driving the issues of animal welfare and the sport’s integrity to the forefront. And creating an opening for legislators to try once more to pass the Horseracing Integrity Act. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY) and Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY) again co-sponsored H.R. 1754, which will develop national, uniform standards for drug-testing racehorses. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency would oversee the program, as they do for other sports. It should be no surprise that Barr and Tonko represent districts in which horses comprise important industries. Tonko represents Saratoga Springs, NY and Barr represents Lexington, KY.
Jodi Whitaker, a legislative aide to Barr, says that this time around, it seems H.R. 1754 will cross the finish line with widespread support. “Momentum continues to build for the Horseracing Integrity Act as members of Congress become more educated and understand that this truly is an issue of interstate commerce, over which Congress has jurisdiction,” she explains. “Sadly, the fatalities at Santa Anita have indeed brought light and sparked an increase in dialogue. That said, this bill would improve the safety of the sport, whether these incidents had happened or not. We also expect to see a Senate companion this year, which is even greater evidence of the support and momentum we have built for this legislation over the past few years.”
Tonko pointed to the need to protect the equine athlete above all else. “Horse racing thrives when we put the majestic equine athlete front and center. Our legislation creates a set of nationwide rules that are clear, consistent, and conflict-free. This will make horse racing safer for our equine athletes and jockeys while increasing confidence in the sport among the trainers, owners, horseplayers, and horse racing fans alike.”
He went on to detail the important economic impact of horse racing. “This Sport of Kings has long supported good jobs and delivers billions of dollars in economic impact every year in my home state of New York and throughout the country. I am grateful to Congressman Barr for partnering with me on this common-sense legislation and look forward to advancing our measure through the House.”
The combination of support from legislators, stakeholders and activists may be the winning bet this time around. Rarick, the horse trainer from France, offers a dire warning to the horse racing industry if comprehensive reforms fail. “If racing in America can’t take these steps and end strings of fatalities like the one at Santa Anita, the animal-rights activists will shut the sport down, ultimately condemning the horses they want to protect to, at best, a forced retirement. What they don’t realize is that without a job to do, the racehorse will become nothing more than a fantasy character in children’s books.”