KHRC will add safety steward to its staff
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will add a safety steward to its staff that will be responsible for monitoring compliance with both national and state-level rules at tracks and training centers in the state, the commission said on Wednesday.
The new position was created in the wake of a spate of horse deaths at Churchill Downs in May that drew national attention. Though several examinations of conditions of the track’s racing surfaces, the regulatory protocols in place in Kentucky, and the horse’s deaths did not reveal deficiencies or commonalities, the publicity surrounding the deaths led Churchill to suspend its live racing operations and move live racing to Ellis Park, a track Churchill owns in western Kentucky.
According to the KHRC, the creation of the safety steward position “puts a focus on safety protocols, establishes a lead position for safety compliance, and ensures that information is being shared across all parties involved.” The duties of the safety steward are currently being performed by existing KHRC staff, the commission said.
Safety stewards have been employed in several major racing jurisdictions over the past two decades in several major racing jurisdictions, including California and New York.
In Kentucky, the safety steward will be responsible for monitoring compliance with medication regulations; evaluating horse entries for several factors that can be indicative of a horse at a higher relative risk of injury; conducting racetrack safety inspections; and conducting random inspections at racetracks and training centers to monitor regulatory and safety compliance, among other duties, the KHRC said.
The safety steward will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the safety regulations promulgated by the KHRC and the rules enforced by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the KHRC said. HISA’s safety regulations went into effect in most U.S. racing jurisdictions last summer.
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