Following the tragic events at Cheltenham racecourse on Sunday which saw three horses – Bangers And Cash, Abuffalosoldier and Napper Tandy – lose their lives, the BHA is reviewing each of the incidents through its fatality review process.
Every fatality is reviewed via this protocol. This includes gathering information from racecourse staff, the jockeys, trainers, trainer’s veterinary surgeon, alongside relevant medication and training records. This data is then collated, analysed, and reviewed by a panel of industry experts.
More detail about the fatality review protocols can be found on the HorsePWR website.
As outlined in this article, on occasions when multiple fatalities occur on any given day, enhanced protocols are frequently enacted which includes assessing the incidents to determine whether any causal link can be attributed. This process can include post-mortem examinations of the affected horses.
In this instance, all three horses were sent for post-mortem examination and the results have confirmed that both Bangers And Cash and Abuffalosoldier suffered from separate varieties of cardiovascular collapse, which is a form of Exercise Associated Sudden Death (EASD).
Napper Tandy fractured a vertebra in his neck following a fall, with no other abnormalities identified.
No causal link could be identified and as it stands, none of the fatalities could have been predicted or prevented prior to the race.
As with humans, EASD can occur in young, fit and otherwise apparently healthy horses of all breeds. Incidents of EASD are, however, infrequent in races, with an overall rate of 0.04% of runners (four in every 10,000) resulting in this outcome. In Jump racing specifically the rate is 0.09%, or nine in every 10,000 runners.
The most commonly identified cause of EASD is cardiopulmonary (i.e. cardiac arrest) but large vessel rupture and central nervous system lesions can also occur.
British racing has invested £56m in advancing equine health, veterinary science and research since the year 2000. One project funded by money provided by the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is to develop an artificial intelligence-based test to identify horses at risk of developing irregular heart rhythms, working with veterinary specialist Celia Marr, the University of Surrey’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and other partners in the United Kingdom and abroad. This project is nearing completion with findings expected to be presented to the sport in the near future.
The BHA is also supporting a more recent project being conducted by Professor Cristobal Navas de Solis and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania looking into the causes of sudden death in racehorses.
More information about welfare in racing can be found at www.horsepwr.co.uk
