Donations from Keeneland, Churchill to help fund research on sesamoid fractures

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland and Churchill Downs, Kentucky’s two most prominent tracks, have each pledged $100,000 to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, to be distributed to research projects over the next three years, the two racetracks announced jointly on Friday.

The pledges will go in part to funding a project that seeks to determine ways to predict sesamoid fractures in racehorses based on an analysis of “training programs, track surface properties, and the bone’s reparative processes,” according to a release. That study has been proposed by Dr. Sue Stover, a researcher at the University of California-Davis who has researched causes of catastrophic injuries in the past.

Other uses for the two contributions for studies in 2021 and 2022 will be “determined at a later date,” the two tracks said in the release.

Keeneland and Churchill announced the contributions one week in advance of the Kentucky Derby, when a national spotlight is trained on the racing industry. The industry at-large has been under intense scrutiny and has been the subject of criticism due to a spate of racing deaths at Santa Anita this winter. In addition, four horses have suffered catastrophic injuries so far at Keeneland during its spring meet, a rate higher than the track’s baseline, and catastrophic injuries spiked at Churchill’s fall meet last year as well.

“These two iconic racing organizations continue to demonstrate their promotion of equine health and welfare, and we are thankful for their support of Grayson’s efforts,” said Dell Hancock, the chairman of Grayson.

Grayson collects funds from a wide range of racing organizations in order to identify and fund research projects affecting the health and welfare of horses.