FORT COLLINS, Colo.—The death of a top race horse in the Kentucky Derby is something researchers at Colorado State University hope to help prevent in the future.
Eight Belles, a filly, fractured both front ankles after placing second at the race last weekend. Veterinarians euthanized her at the track, prompting a nationwide discussion about the risks the animals face from aggressive training and breeding.
At CSU’s Equine Orthopedic Research Center, one veterinarian is a pioneer in bone and joint surgery that is saving race horses. Another has tissue samples from 150 different horses, hoping to find an answer to the common injury that Eight Belles suffered May 3.
“The fetlock joint is much like the human finger. We feel it is the weakest part of the racing thoroughbred,” said Dr. Chris Kowcak, who studies fractured fetlocks at CSU. One finding suggests blood tests could help identify horses likely to fracture.
“There were actually some fairly striking changes in the blood parameters in those horses that fractured versus those that didn’t,” Kowcak said.
Race horses are big and fast, and like a race car, there’s very little margin for error. Kowcak said there’s no question Eight Belles couldn’t have recovered from her injury.
“I think any time this happens, we, as an industry, take a very critical look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it,” he said.
Kowcak said now, more than ever, new techniques help horses recover from an ankle fracture.
“Our techniques in being able to fix a lot of these animals have improved vastly,” he said.
That’s largely because of research funded and pushed by the racing community.
“You can criticize the trainers and the owners and the jockeys as much as you want, but they’re the ones that have mandated that we become more aggressive in terms of how we manage these horses from a veterinary standpoint,” he said. “They are gone over as well or better than some of the human athletes.”
Kowcak’s ankle-fracture research is funded by thoroughbred racing’s Jockey Club. He said lessons are being learned from injuries like Eight Belles’.
He used Derby winner Barbaro, who shattered his right rear leg at the start of the Preakness two years ago, as an example. Much of what was learned working with the animal—euthanized eight months after developing laminitis as a result of his injury—is being applied to injured horses everywhere.
Some horse tracks around the country are changing from dirt to a synthetic track material called polytrack. It’s hoped that will reduce horse injuries and deaths.
———
On the Net:
CSU Equine Orthopedic Research Center:
