Horse Racing Is Having a Breakdown

As jockey Juan Ochoa asked the 3-year-old colt Chobigme to give his best on the final turn of a recent race, something went terribly wrong.

“It was like a flat tire,” Ochoa said. “I pulled with all my strength on the reins. I could see he was in pain.”

Chobigme broke the sesamoid bone in his right front leg July 23 and was euthanized, one of seven horses in the first eight days of the summer race season here to be put down because of a catastrophic injury.

Up to that point, Ochoa said, “The horse was 100% sound.”

And that’s the mystery spreading throughout thoroughbred racing. Scores of supposedly fit, seemingly healthy horses are suffering severe injuries without warning.

“Something is amiss,” said Rick Arthur, incoming equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board. Exactly what, though, is unclear.

Industry experts have theories -- track surfaces aren’t forgiving enough, horses are being raced too often or while on pain medication that masks injuries -- but there are few concrete reasons or solutions.

Statistics confirm some kind of problem. There were 154 racing fatalities during the 2004-05 racing season in California, an increase of 50% in a two-year period, according to the racing board. Including training, there were 320 deaths last season.

In the first 15 days at Del Mar, nine horses have been euthanized. Of those, three were injured in morning workouts and six during afternoon races. Last year, seven were euthanized because of racing injuries over the entire 43-day calendar.

But injuries are not limited to Del Mar. Santa Anita reported 44 fatalities last year, 19 during races. Hollywood Park had 33 -- 13 during races.

“I consider the injuries to these animals our Achilles’ heel,” Arthur said. “Every time we lose a horse, we lose a fan.”

More than 80% of catastrophic racing injuries are the result of bone fractures, ruptured tendons or ruptured ligaments, according to Sue Stover, an expert in equine orthopedic research who is a professor at UC Davis. Eight of the deaths at Del Mar this summer have been the result of a fracture to the sesamoid bone in a horse’s front leg.

The 8-year-old gelding Bonus Pack was among the horses put down in the past couple of weeks.

“He was like a family member ... a sweet horse,” said trainer Bill Spawr, who was bitter for days afterward. “I’ve talked to other trainers and we know the results, and we know there’s something wrong.”

Pedro Esquivas, who has been a groom for 20 years and works for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, said he too is concerned for his horses.

“I sleep with them. When you take care of a good horse, you become attached,” he said. “It’s like taking care of a baby. You have to take the temperature, see if he’s eaten. We feel it when some horse dies. When you take care of a horse three, four years, you love the horse.”

In May, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro suffered a fractured sesamoid -- plus two other bone fractures and a dislocated ankle joint -- during the Preakness Stakes, prompting an outpouring of sympathy and putting a national spotlight on horse injuries. But even before that, the California racing board had taken a dramatic step toward improving safety at the state’s five largest racetracks, mandating that millions be spent for new synthetic surfaces to replace the dirt courses at Del Mar, Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields by the end of 2007.

If early results are an accurate indication, synthetic surfaces seem to be safer. Last year, Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. became the first track in North America to install synthetic Polytrack, and horse deaths from injuries fell from 24 to three during a comparable span.

Polytrack is a grayish-colored surface made of synthetic fibers, recycled rubber and fine sand, all coated with wax. Similar products carry brand names such as Tapeta Footing, Cushion Surface, Equestrian Surfaces and StaLok. They are said to reduce injuries because of a cushioning effect they provide to horses and because the material provides more consistent footing in all types of weather conditions.

Installing a synthetic surface over a new vertical drainage system typically costs $7-8 million, but the hope is that it’s worth it. “The only way to fix it -- Polytrack,” said trainer Spawr, an advocate of the system who had 11 horses injured during the last race meeting at Santa Anita.

Others aren’t sure that surfaces are the problem. John Shirreffs, who trained 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, favors dirt. “Horses get ahold of a dirt track really well,” he said. “I just want to see how [Polytrack] works.”

Astroturf, Shirreffs recalled, was supposed to be “the savior of football, and it turned out not to be. We have to see what happens.”

In tight quarters, racing injuries can cause spectacular, even tragic, spills. However, the perception that mishaps strike from out of the blue might not be accurate.

Stover, the UC Davis professor, said, “The vast majority of injuries are not because of one bad step. They are a result of the activity of the horse two or three months prior to the injury.”

Members of the racing community say several other factors -- some of them driven by the economics of what can be an expensive sport -- could be leading to the increase in fatalities.

The thoroughbred season is year-round in Southern California, from Del Mar to Pomona to Inglewood to Arcadia.

Trainer John Sadler said, “The fact is, we have too much racing. Del Mar probably should be five days a week instead of six. The other thing that hurts Del Mar is they have only a couple weeks to get their surface ready because of the Del Mar Fair. The surface needs more care than they’re allowed to give it.”

Overcrowding is another issue. Horsemen have been asked to spread their workout times throughout the morning at Del Mar because, with Hollywood Park and Santa Anita now closed, the track is crowded with horses trying to train. Racehorses, which seem to have an in-bred competitive streak, tend to be easier to handle when fewer other horses are around.

More pointedly, increased scrutiny is being given to medications that mask pain, allowing horses to return more quickly from soreness but possibly leaving them susceptible to injury.

Breeding has even been mentioned as a possible culprit, with too much of a genetic focus on speed rather than durability. Also, given that thoroughbred racing is year-around in California, some wonder whether horses are breaking down because of fatigue.

“There are probably instances where a horse could use time off,” trainer Shirreffs said. “It’s a judgment call. I can’t blame it on medication or track surface, though each one has its problems.”

But Arthur, the state medical director, and Richard Shapiro, chairman of the state racing board, say there is research indicating that horses are being raced less now than they were 30 years ago.

“There’s a problem, but it’s very complex,” Shapiro said. “ ... we’re doing everything we can.”

At Del Mar, track officials have added sand to the racing surface and increased from two to three the number of veterinarians on the pre-race inspection team. The track also hired a mechanical engineering professor to inspect the course using ground-penetrating radar. He found no inconsistencies.

Nationally, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has scheduled a two-day welfare and safety summit, Oct. 16-17 in Lexington, Ky., to consider issues surrounding thoroughbred injuries.

Shapiro and Arthur point out that California is among the few states to compile statistics on horse injuries. Under a postmortem program established in 1990, more than 3,600 necropsies have been performed on horses fatally injured in a race or in training.

But the reporting system is in need of improvement, Arthur said. Results are compiled only once a year, in November.

“With better reporting, we can keep a close eye on patterns and problems as they develop,” he said at a racing board hearing last month.

The future health of the racing industry could be at stake.

“Everybody, from the fans to the owners to the hot-walkers, are devastated by any horse injury,” trainer Mandella said. “It’s terrible, it’s like losing your best friend.”

Ricardo Jaime is the only jockey to have been injured when his horse broke down at this Del Mar meeting. Jaime suffered a broken collarbone when he was thrown from his mount, Esroh, after the horse suffered a fractured cannon bone during the first week.

The injuries and horse deaths have caught the attention of fans. Diana Rude, who came to the track on a recent Saturday on a bus with 60 others from her neighborhood in nearby Lakeside, said, “It turns the fan off. I probably won’t come back to this meet if something happens today. It’s such a horrific experience to witness.”