Spate of racehorse deaths puts spotlight once again on horse racing industry.

With the recent incident rate of racehorse deaths increasing, the question as to the welfare of these animals in the horse racing industry has once again begun.

The Incidents

The first incident happened on 1st July, 2023, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) staged the Hong Kong Reunification Raceday at Sha Tin Racecourse. In the third race - The Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, a horse named Man Light gained 14th in the race but then laid down after crossing the finishing line. HKJC indicated that Man Light had suffered a stroke after crossing the finishing line. Sadly, all rescue measures proved ineffectual. An additional veterinary report written by the Veterinary Officer of the HKJC conducted further examinations and all horses inspected during last Saturday (i,e. 1st July, 2023) showed no significant findings.

Not long after the first incidents, on 6th July 2023, the deaths of two horses were reported. A horse named “Happy Gathering”(E029) had broken a leg after it stumbled and fell during the race and had to be euthanized. While the other horse, BABY (C271) collapsed and died after finishing the race.

As reported by many newspapers and also published in the press report issued by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, “the incidents involving three horses were rare and unusual”.

It is not the first time it was reported that horses were found severely injured or dead during or after races. Another earlier incident, which happened on 13th December, 2021 where two horses died after a horror fall marred the Group One Hong Kong Sprint. This is not only happening in Hong Kong, the Kentucky Derby has also recently experienced the death of 12 horses in May, 2023. Most of their euthanasia resulted from incurable injuries.

Injuries & Equine welfare

World Animal Protection had previously confirmed that animal welfare in horse racing concerns horses' exposure to significant risk of injuries and traumatic deaths or emergency euthanasia. This is supported by the British Horseracing Authority who found that racing horses are more likely to be exposed to musculoskeletal issues, skeletal fractures and skeletal inflammation, resulting from the additional weight, horses’ use of their own strength, agility and power during races. Some were even found to administer painkilling drugs to injured horses in order to continue their daily training or races, while some were found to administer drugs (sometimes illegal) that boost horses' performances at races. Technological advancement may assist horses in their recovery process, but somehow, in some circumstances, euthanasia has to be performed to relieve horses from unresolvable, painful or stressful conditions.

Horseracing authorities adopted different measures in securing horses’ health before putting them on races. It is common around the world where pre-racing examinations are conducted to ensure the appropriateness of horses for the race and also post-racing examinations are conducted to examine whether horses sustained any injuries during the races. If injuries are sustained, some organisations would have sent these horses to veterinarians and are being taken care of.

Thoroughbred horses in horse racing

To enrich the ability and quality of horses, thoroughbred horses are also one of the common phenomena in horse racing. Thoroughbred horses is a selective breeding process which has been going on for more than 300 years, breeding offspring from stallions and mares of superior and excellent racing qualities (International Museum of the Horse). Similar to humans, horses do inherit genes and qualities from their parents by heredity. Nonetheless, not all thoroughbred foals get to portray qualities like their parents and these foals are somehow not qualified as being a racing horse. This issue then causes an overpopulation of thoroughbred horses.

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) issued a “Thoroughbred Welfare Assessment Guideline” in October 2019 in hopes of encouraging horseracing authorities to adhere to this guideline in achieving the health and welfare of racehorses. The IFHA has also published the “IFHA Minimum Horse Welfare Standards” for horseracing authorities to act as guidance on standards for the care and welfare of horses at different times of their lives, including the mentality of horses (IFHA Minimum Horse Welfare Standards, May 2020). As suggested in the title of this guideline, which only provides minimum standards, it is advised to take additional actions to secure and protect the health and welfare of horses in the horseracing industry.

Very recently, Singapore announced that end of horse racing in the city after 180 years by closing its racecourse, as it prepares to make space for more public housing.The final race meeting will take place on 5 October 2024, when the club holds its 100th Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The site will then be handed back to the government in 2027 for redevelopment.

Given the cultural significance of horse racing in Hong Kong, it is very unlikely that we will see the end of this sport here. However, what we can do is hope horse racing authorities can ensure the health and welfare of racehorses are always made a priority, to avoid future situations such as the ones that we have already seen.

Courtesy of Eufrosina Liu