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NEWS BRIEFS
Track’s December racing fatalities double over ’07
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Officials at a Kentucky horse track are trying to determine if their ban on a certain type of shoe aimed at making racing safer actually had the opposite effect after fatalities doubled in December compared to the previous year.
Turfway Park in Florence reported that eight horses died from racing injuries during its 21-day holiday meet that ended Dec. 31. During the same meet in 2007, which included six additional race days, four horses died on the track and one other in the paddock.
Chief veterinarian Bryce Peckham of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission disclosed the figures Tuesday during the commission’s first meeting of the year. He said Turfway’s synthetic track has been reconfigured once in the last two years.
Racing officials are focusing their review on Turfway’s September ban on rear “toe grabs” — shoes that contain metal spikes intended to aid in traction.
While many states have banned front toe grabs, which have been identified as possibly contributing to breakdowns when they latch onto the surface, Turfway and Keeneland were the only tracks in Kentucky that banned rear toe grabs last year. Turfway rescinded its ban Jan. 2.
Peckham said there is some sentiment in the medical community that back toe grabs may actually help reduce injuries by reducing the stress on the front legs. At least six of the eight fatalities during the holiday meet were caused by injuries to left front limbs, Peckham said.
