NTRA Safety Alliance Eyes Spot Checks after N.Y. Report

The move stems from a task force report that studied a spate of catastrophic breakdowns at Aqueduct Racetrack.
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The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Safety and Integrity Alliance plans to do spot checks to ensure accredited racetracks are adhering to its code of standards, an alliance official said Sept. 29.

The move stems from a task force report that studied a spate of catastrophic breakdowns at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York during its 2011-12 fall/winter meet. The report, released Sept. 28, examined veterinary procedures at New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks as part of its assessment.

Aqueduct, as well as Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, have received accreditation and re-accreditation from the alliance. Tracks are eligible to be re-accredited every two years.

The task force report said NYRA veterinarians follow the alliance protocol for pre-race exams but told the task force they were unaware of, or hadn’t seen, the written protocol. It also said examining veterinarians "did not have access to past performances, high-speed exercise history, or historical exam findings to review prior to pre-race exams

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Tom LaMarra, a native of New Jersey and graduate of Rutgers University, has been news editor at The Blood-Horse since 1998. After graduation he worked at newspapers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as an editor and reporter with a focus on municipal government and politics. He also worked at Daily Racing Form and Thoroughbred Times before joining The Blood-Horse. LaMarra, who has lived in Lexington since 1994, has won various writing awards and was recognized with the Old Hilltop Award for outstanding coverage of the horse racing industry. He likes to spend some of his spare time handicapping races.

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