British racing linking up with Royal Veterinary College to improve welfare

The British racing industry will join forces with the Royal Veterinary College to improve equine welfare via data gathered through the Racing Risk Models project.

The project is headed by the British Horseracing Authority and the Horse Welfare Board, together with independent academic researchers from the RVC, and is based on the findings of data spanning over 14 years.

With the aim of better understanding the risk factors that lead to long-term injuries and fatalities, the work began in 2018 and has reviewed each race in Britain to note horse details, racing history, trainer, jockey and racecourse information and the details of any adverse outcomes.

The potential risk factors identified were the horse, the race, the course, the trainer and the jockey, from which predictive models can help to identify how injury and fatality rates might be affected by those elements.

As part of the research, 400,000 National Hunt records have been analysed and in 2023 the project was expanded to include Flat racing data.

The findings from both codes will then be handed over to the Equine Safety Group, made up of experts from across British racing including owners, trainers, jockeys, racecourses, veterinary and safety advisors and internal data analysts.

The group will then make recommendations to the sport as to further research or analysis, consultation procedures or proposals for change.

Some of these changes are already afoot, including the replacing of all-birch hurdles for padded hurdles after the RVC’s modelling found the use of the latter would reduce the risk of horses falling by 11 per cent.

As a result the BHA will introduce padded hurdles to all tracks by October 2026, and they will be in place for both the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National meeting at Aintree in 2025.

Other areas of ongoing study informed by the research include reviewing horses who fall more than once in a given timeframe, a review of ‘tight’ tracks, the impact of field sizes, ground and going, race value, horse age, country of origin and a review of maiden and novice races.

James Given, director of equine regulation, safety and welfare at the BHA and a member of the Horse Welfare Board, said: “The Royal Veterinary College epidemiological team have academic expertise and independence that delivers scientifically rigorous evidence that enables recommendations and actions to be based on indisputable data.

“Reduction of risk and injury is one of the core pillars of our welfare strategy and informed evidence-based decision making is integral to this.”

Roly Owers, chief executive of World Horse Welfare, added: “Evidence-based decisions are vital to ensure the right changes are made to improve welfare and safety in horse sport, so we welcome the long-term investment in the work on the RRM and the impact it will have in protecting horses and jockeys.

“No activity with horses can ever be risk-free, but racing poses specific risks and so it is right that British racing is using its own data to identify and reduce avoidable risks.”