Racing-fatality rate declines 21 percent in third quarter of 2024

The racing-fatality rate at racetracks under the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority during the third quarter of this year was 0.93 per 1,000 starts, according to figures published by HISA on Tuesday.

The 0.93 rate was a 21 percent decline from the racing fatality rate at HISA tracks in the third quarter of last year, when the rate was 1.18 per 1,000 starts, according to the organization. It was the third consecutive quarter in which the rate declined compared to the same quarter in the year prior.

The third-quarter rate provides additional detail for a 0.88 annual rate that Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer of HISA, provided during an address last week at the Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson. Lazarus said that the 0.88 rate included all starts at HISA tracks between Dec. 10, 2023, and Dec. 10, 2024, the date she gave the address.

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The fatality rate at U.S. tracks has declined considerably over the past 15 years as the racing industry has implemented stricter regulations on many medications, utilized machine-learning and data analysis to identify at-risk horses, and increased veterinary oversight. In 2009, the first year the U.S. racing industry began tracking racing fatalities, the rate was 2.00 per 1,000 starts.

The rate published by HISA on Tuesday did not include fatalities at tracks in states that are not under HISA’s jurisdiction. HISA said in an accompanying report that it “submitted public disclosure requests” for tracks in Louisiana, Texas, and West Virginia and determined that the racing-fatality rate at those tracks in the second quarter was 2.38 per 1,000 starts.

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