This morning the public session of the second Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit was held at Keeneland racecourse in Lexington, Ky., to focus on new approaches to solving industry issues. Approximately 100 people were in the sales pavilion to hear a series of speakers update progress on topics brought up at the first meeting in October 2006.

There were reports from the Welfare and Safety Committee on On-track injury reporting, shoeing and hoof care, education and licensing, race conditions, racing surfaces, and durability of racehorses.

Other topics that morning included non-catastrophic injuries, racing surfaces analysis, potential factors in on-track injuries, a track superintendent panel, and industry initiatives updates.

A common theme of the morning was looking at injuries and fatalities on dirt tracks versus synthetic surfaces. “Comparing fatality rates between dirt and synthetic, there was a 30% reduction in fatalities with synthetic surfaces,” reported Mary Scollay, DVM, track veterinarian at Calder Race Course and Gulfstream Park in Florida