High Stakes Video
[-Back
to High Stakes-]
Can biomechanics research improve racetracks and prevent injuries to
horses and jockeys?
Video Text: One of the challenges in horse racing is that tracks have always been
blamed for every problem under the sun. If you lose and bet on the wrong
horse, it's always the track. If a horse is injured, it's always a
problem with the track.
In reality it's a multifactorial issue--it's the injuries, it's the
breeding. There are all kinds of risks that are associated with an
injury to a horse, whether it's catastrophic injury or some sort of a
more minor injury that the horse will come back from.
Track safety has become an issue recently, partly because of the
introduction of synthetic tracks. The synthetic tracks have introduced
consistency to track surfaces that didn't exist in the past. What
biomechanics brings to this whole issue is the ability to test tracks to
compare a track that may be of a traditional design to one of these new
synthetic tracks, and to assure the veterinarians, the owners, and the
trainers that the track will be a track that's consistent relative to
the other surfaces they've run on.
What we've been developing over the last 10 years are tools that will
allow measurements to be made on these tracks, and allow a trainer to
make the decision to ship a horse to a particular track based on
quantitative evaluations of the track surfaces. The protection of these
magnificent animals is helpful for the health of the industry. It also
has a huge impact on the safety of the jockey, as well as the enthusiasm
of the fans.
