Jojo Doria - AHN
New York, NY (AHN) - The Jockey Club has formed a committee that will study equine health, including track safety and rules of racing, as a result of the death of the filly Eight Belles five days ago at the Kentucky Derby.
Ogden Mills Phipps, chairman of The Jockey Club, said Thursday that a seven-member Thoroughbred Safety committee would be tasked to review every aspect of equine health from breeding practices to medication. The committee will also submit corresponding recommendations to the horse industry in helping its goal to improve the health and safety of thoroughbreds.
"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee is a major step that will provide the examination of the horse welfare and safety issues so badly needed in the wake of recent catastrophic injuries," National Thoroughbred Racing Association president Alex Waldrop told the Associated Press. "Now, more than ever, no practice, policy or tradition is more important than those that best protect and promote the health of the thoroughbred athlete."
In the recently concluded Kentucky Derby, Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to participate in the Derby, finished behind favorite and eventual champion Big Brown. The filly collapsed after the finish line and was put down after sustaining two broken front ankles subsequently sparking renewed interest in animal safety in the industry.
"You need good track superintendents," Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow told the AP on adopting quick fixes. "If they had good track superintendents, they wouldn't have to go to all these synthetic tracks (because) you'd have guys that would know what they're doing."
The seven members of the committee are: Stuart S. Janney III (chairman), John Barr, James G. (Jimmy) Bell, Donald R. Dizney, Dell Hancock, Dr. Hiram C. Polk Jr. and Dr. Larry Bramlage, the attending veterinarian when Eight Belles was euthanized. Each is a member of the 114-year-old Jockey Club, the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds.
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