Annual Metrics Report for 2024 Released by HISA

[Wandering Eyes]

Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)'s 2024 Annual Metrics Report was released Monday. The report presents data collected in 2024 as part of HISA's Racetrack Safety Program.

As previously announced, the 47 racetracks operating under HISA's ADMC Program and Racetrack Safety Program recorded an aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts. The Jockey Club subsequently published the 2024 data from its Equine Injury Database (EID), announcing a North American racing-related fatality rate of 1.11 per 1,000 starts. Significantly, the 2024 EID shows that racetracks in the United States that are not subject to HISA's rules have a fatality rate of 1.76 per 1,000 starts, which is almost double the 0.90 per 1,000 starts at HISA racetracks.

The rate of 0.90 is a 35% decrease from the rate of 1.39 reported by the EID in 2021–the last full year prior to the launch of HISA's Racetrack Safety Program–and a 27% decrease from the rate of 1.23 that HISA reported last year. It also represents a 55% decline since 2009, when the EID first began reporting such fatalities, at a rate of 2.00.

In 2024, racetracks operating under HISA's rules (and the training facilities owned by them) reported 181 training-related deaths, equating to 0.50 deaths per 1,000 workouts (i.e., the official timed works of racehorses preparing for an official start). This is a conservative ratio, as HISA's training-related data includes fatalities that occur during all training activities, not just workouts.

While it is too early to establish trends in combined racing- and training-related fatality data, transparency is a critical first step in identifying risk factors and developing targeted safety initiatives. The information collected on training-related fatalities has served to expand HISA's existing database and will be instructive as the organization moves toward identifying patterns to help racing stakeholders make more informed decisions for their horses and proposing guidance and rules designed to make training safer.

Information related to HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program will be released later this month by HISA's independent anti-doping administrator, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit.

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