"With the rise of racinos and slot-fueled purses, the time has come to drop claiming races. Claiming races were for a different time, a time that has long passed; specifically at the racino tracks. The claiming game has become dirty and is contrary to the goal of providing for equine welfare."

"In our own analysis of 1,284,426 starts -- Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse -- THOROUGHBRED TIMES found an incident rate of 4.33 per 1,000 starts, which was lower than the 5.2 incidents per 1,000 starts reported by the New York Times. Perhaps that difference points to some of the methodology problems of such studies, although in an e-mail received on April 6, the New York Times said it was confident in the accuracy of its numbers."

"Fast-forward nearly four years and a similar scenario may be playing out. On March 25, the New York Times published a story tying increased equine injuries to the sport’s overuse of medication -- legal and illegal -- lax regulation, and a shift of track ownership to casino companies that provide little racing oversight." Thoroughbred Times follows up on NYT story, runs its own injury numbers.

"Yet even if the sport’s critics distort some aspects of the horse-safety issue, thoroughbred racing is facing a crisis that has been brewing since the Eight Belles tragedy. The industry is alienating large numbers of fans and potential fans who believe the sport is ruthlessly inhumane in its treatment of animals. That is a misperception ... but the industry nevertheless has a real problem that it has failed to address effectively."

"The purses were also increased for the cheaper horses that fill in the everyday claiming races. As a result, horses running for a claiming price of $7,500 were running for a purse worth $30,000, which increased the number of starters and seemed like a home run for all involved. Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare for the NYRA when an astounding 18 horses suffered fatal breakdowns over the inner-dirt track during the winter meet. The majority of the breakdowns came in the cheaper claiming races, which tend to have the biggest field sizes and the horses with the most physical problems."

"Horses died while racing at Santa Anita Park at more than double the rate of horses at the state's other three major thoroughbred tracks over the last fiscal year, according to state statistics. The fatality rate at Santa Anita, in Arcadia, rose significantly after a return to a dirt running surface in 2010 after three years of using a synthetic track, the data show."

"Horses running on dirt surfaces in 2011 at North American tracks suffered fatal injuries at nearly twice the rate of horses running on artificial surfaces, according to a Jockey Club project that tracks equine injuries. The Jockey Club, which released the information Thursday, said that racetracks representing 93 percent of the race days in North American are participating in the project. The fatality rate for horses running on dirt surfaces was 2.07 per 1,000 starts for 2011, according to the data. Horses running on synthetic surfaces suffered catastrophic injuries at the rate of 1.09 per 1,000 starts. On turf, the rate was 1.53 per 1,000 starts."

"I would just say that you’re coming up against certain deep, fundamental biological truths: that any living thing is subject to the laws of mortality, and that there was nothing that was done with any of these horses that was unnatural, nothing that was other than what they had evolved to do. [In claiming otherwise], there’s a kind of moral and emotional fastidiousness that is entailed, which at a certain point becomes absurd. Organic matter depends upon the appropriation and consumption of other organic matter. There are just truths that obtain whether we find them pleasant or not. The kind of flinching from any form of art or experience that PETA seems to advocate is ultimately life-hating."

"Despite the finality of what happened, I can’t in good conscience allow the radical animal rights group PETA – and the journalists who faithfully report whatever the agenda-driven organization tells them – to have the last word on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three horses over the two-year period that LUCK was being filmed. Known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA was anything but ethical in how it spread lies about the equine accidents that plagued LUCK."

[Written before the series was cancelled.] "Winding down its first season, Luck is well on pace to create a portrait of horse racing that is more full and accurate than any other in film or television history. For an American Thoroughbred industry increasingly reliant on slot machine income to support its racing product and one that is still coming to terms with marketplace reality in the breeding shed and sales ring six years after The Green Monkey's irrational exuberance, the harsh yet hopeful stories of the racing world on display in Luck could, if effectively marketed, draw potential fans to the track -- and the horses will take it from there."

"The cancellation of 'Luck' by HBO in the aftermath of what amounts to a freak accident is but a small if significant defeat for racing at the hands of animal-rights activists, who would happily serve as witnesses to the sport's death. The entertainment industry exists heads-bowed in the shadow of craven political correctness while at the same time unabashedly serving blindly the cause of vulgarity. 'Jersey Shore,' for instance, remains. There is a disconnect here, and though many viewed 'Luck' as something less than positive for the image of the sport, its cancellation is more damaging if only for the perception it fosters."

"One obvious conclusion is that horses in the cheaper claiming races are vulnerable. Of the 18 fatalities, 13 came in races where horses were running for a claiming price of $15,000 or less."

"If the future of horse racing depends on the prevention of fractured skulls and broken leg bones, racing might as well shut down today. The fact is, the thoroughbred racing industry is not going to have any luck or much of a future until it quits turning a blind eye to its major problem — drugs."

"According to Scollay, the one fatality [at Turfway] occurred in December and was followed by two months -- January and February -- in which no which horses died during races over the track’s artificial Polytrack surface. Scollay said that equated to one fatality for the 4,532 starts recorded at the track during the three-month period. The national catastrophic injury rate is about two horses per 1,000 starts. Scollay attributed the safe racing to a collaborative effort on the part of Turfway Park management, horsemen, veterinarians working at the track in Northern Kentucky, and the KHRC’s veterinary staff that conducts pre-race inspections."

"First, NYRA will begin enforcing a house rule that will allow P.J. Campo, the director of racing, Anthony Verderosa, the chief examining vet, the right to refuse entry of a horse with which 'they have any nature of concern.'" Also: http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/stories/Feb172012.shtml

"There had been 11 racing fatalities over the main track through Sunday, including one horse that fell over a downed horse that had clipped heels. Another seven fatalities had occurred during training hours, including one horse that died after a collision with another horse and one sudden death. 'Of course, last year they were coming off an exceptionally safe surface that really I don't think Santa Anita's ever seen before,' Arthur said. 'I think people were hoping to get closer to that number than what they're going to end up with.' There were only six fatalities -- two during racing and four in the mornings -- over Santa Anita's synthetic surface last year. There were 22 fatalities -- 12 during racing and 10 in the mornings -- when Santa Anita last raced on dirt during the 2006-07 season."

"[T]he lack of an enforcement mechanism or incentive for accreditation is impeding the success of the Alliance’s accreditation efforts," Thompson said. "We encourage the industry to consider a long-term strategy to enact the type of enforcement mechanism necessary."

“That’s somewhat misleading,” Arthur said of last year’s fatality rate. “That was such an exceptionally safe year; everything just worked out. Richard Tedesco did a great job with that (synthetic) track, and I’m sure his guys are going to do a great job with this track, too.”

"If we don't know the fatality rates at each racetrack, how can there be any action taken on the results of the study or, more importantly, how can horsemen decide where to perhaps avoid racing in the future?"

Fascinating results from the first year of the TJC equine injury database. "The analysis also showed female horses had a lower fatality rate than intact male horses; that females weren’t at increased risk when they compete against males; that 2-year-olds were less likely to break down than older horses; that there was no statistically significant difference in fatal injuries with various surface conditions."

More on TJC injury data. "This tells us the debate goes on."

"Dirt statistics from 2009 had an average of 0.39% CEDNFs per starter, so if the hypothetical meeting was strictly on a dirt track there would be 18 horses that didn’t finish and never raced/worked out again. A meeting conducting entirely on an all-weather/synthetic track, with a percentage of 0.19% CEDNFs, would have just nine non-finishers who never raced or worked again. An all-turf meeting would have 12 CEDNFs, based on the percentage of 0.26%. So, in 2009 at least, all-weather/synthetic tracks produced half the number of career-ending incidents than were recorded on dirt, and synthetics were even safer than turf." PDF: http://jessicachapel.com/docs/natb-062810-final.pdf (Also see: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/57670/study-looks-at-number-of-dnfs-by-surface Note TOBA no-comment.)