Reviewing Ten Deaths at Saratoga Race Course

BY ESPN

A review of the racing and training surfaces at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the wake of 10 exercise-related musculoskeletal fatalities so far during the meet has not unearthed any obvious problems with the tracks, according to the New York State Gaming Commission.

Robert Williams, the executive director of the commission, said at a meeting Tuesday that Saratoga's operator, the New York Racing Association, had recently brought in Mick Peterson, a racing-surface expert based at the University of Maine, to examine the tracks. The review found that the "2016 main-track surface meets standards consistent with previous years," Williams said.

The exercise-related fatalities were concentrated in the first half of the meet, which began in late July. In addition to the 10 deaths that were musculoskeletal in nature, two horses have died of cardiac events following exercise, another died of a virus, and another as a result of a fall, bringing the total number of deaths at the meet to 14. The meet closes Monday.

Equine experts consistently caution that racing and training fatalities involve a number of factors. In addition, clusters of racing fatalities often lead to increased scrutiny of single factors that might not draw attention if the fatalities are spread out over a longer period of time.