Kentucky study to examine unsoundness level of raceday scratches

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Kentucky Equine Drug Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal for a study that will examine the prevalence of unsoundness among horses that were scratched on race day by regulatory veterinarians.

The study, which will be led by Dr. Bruno Carvalho Menarim of the Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, will use a PET scanner on the lower limbs of up to 150 horses that were scratched on race day due to lameness to determine which show diagnostic evidence of fetlock disease or soft-tissue damage. The study will also use that data to study the long-term performance of those horses that were scanned.

The study, which will need to be formally approved by the full Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, was proposed at a time when horsemen have become increasingly critical of raceday scratches. Many have pointed to the policies of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which began applying its rules in most major racing jurisdictions midway through 2022.

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Although data from HISA show that raceday scratches have ticked up only slightly nationally since 2023, the problem does appear to be acute in Kentucky, where the percentage of raceday scratches jumped from 1.53 percent of starters in 2022 to 2.71 percent the next year, according to KHRGC data. In 2025, raceday scratches were 2.59 percent of all starters.

Menarim told members of the drug council that the study will seek to determine whether the current raceday exam protocols underlying a diagnosis of lameness correlate with soundness issues that can be diagnosed through a PET scan and other advanced imaging technologies.

The proposal received unanimous support from the drug council members, several of whom are vets or surgeons.

Mike Ziegler, the senior vice president and general manager of Churchill Downs racetrack, who is a member of the council, said that he was hopeful that the study results would lead to more effective protocols for diagnosing lameness. Racetracks are concerned about scratches from regulatory vets because field size is a primary determinant of wagering on races.

“Whatever we can learn from a track perspective to help these horses race more frequently is good for all of us,” Ziegler said.

At the same meeting, the drug council also approved up to $600,000 in subsidies to horsemen for reimbursement for advanced imaging diagnostics, in part to defray the costs of participating in the Gluck study.

Chancy Morris, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, which administers the subsidies, said that Dale Romans, the president of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, asked him to relay a message to the drug council in support of the request.

“[Romans] told me that he wants to do everything possible to encourage a change in backside culture to rely more on imaging” rather than hands-on diagnostics, Morris said.

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