Fatal inury data subject at Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit

An epidemiologist who is examining data on fatal injuries in racehorses will provide an updated analysis of the figures at the July 8 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., according to a schedule released on Friday by the conference’s administrators.

Dr. Tim Parkin, a senior lecturer and associate academic at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, will provide the analysis in the opening panel of the one-day conference, the sixth of its kind. Parkin’s previous analysis of the data, which has been collected for the past seven years, has identified several high-risk factors for horses, along with a statistically significant, nearly two-fold difference between fatality rates on artificial surfaces and dirt surfaces.

The summit, which was first held in 2006, is administered by the Jockey Club and its non-profit subsidiary, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. It has annually drawn a small but influential roster of officials from racing commissions, veterinary organizations, and Thoroughbred after-care groups. The summit is also streamed live by the Jockey Club and the Grayson Foundation.

Also on the agenda this year is a discussion by Dr. Larry Bramlage of the Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic in Lexington of bone-modeling in Thoroughbreds in training. Dr. Mick Peterson, a University of Maine professor who heads up the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, will moderate a panel on racing surfaces, and Dr. Mary Scollay, the equine medical director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, will moderate a panel on post-mortem diagnoses of racehorses, among other topics.