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Commission hears detailed veterinary report on testing, CO2 readings, atrial fibrillation and injection policies
Summary
A staff veterinarian updated commissioners on increased screening, CO2 testing, clearance testing, and concerns about corticosteroid injections and sudden deaths. The commission discussed improved testing protocols and use of radiographs and cardiology monitoring.
At Monday’s commission meeting a staff veterinarian summarized health-and-safety monitoring on the backside, describing intensified testing, elevated total CO2 readings in some stalls, cardiac monitoring initiatives and rules around therapeutic injections.
The veterinarian said staff increased respiratory and cardiac screening this season, added a more specific cardiac monitor and are working with veterinary researchers to review data. “We have an upper limit, in our rooms like €37,000,000. And when it gets above 34, we're pretty certain that the traders are manipulating the system,” the veterinarian said, describing the commission’s concern about unusually high total CO2 readings in some test samples.
The veterinarian described clearance testing protocols for horses administered certain medications and said some horses are tested multiple times and must meet strict clearance periods before racing (one example: a 20-day clearance window for a specific medication). He also summarized work with University cardiology efforts to screen for atrial fibrillation (AFib) and noted a research collaboration that uses wearable or deployed monitors to detect arrhythmias and, in some cases, sudden deaths.
On injections, the veterinarian reviewed corticosteroid use and said injections can mask pain and risk longer-term injury if used without rest. “If it's given without rest and opportunity for the tissue to start recovering itself, then it actually has a negative or deleterious effect on the tissue,” the veterinarian said. The commission discussed radiograph review and an outside boarded surgeon reading radiographs to provide secondary interpretation in cases of dispute.
Commissioners asked for better investigator timing and procedural improvements for next season; staff said they will refine testing protocols and investigator processes.
Ending — staff said the track is adopting additional screening and external-reading procedures, and will report further findings to the commission as analyses conclude.
