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In the five months before New York Thunder suffered a catastrophic breakdown in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) Aug. 26 at Saratoga Race Course, he had been scratched from four different stakes races, placed on the veterinarians' list once for unsoundness, and once more for injury.

He received three intra-articular injections in the two months before his fatal injury suffered in the stretch run of a race that he posted exceptional fractions and seemed a certain winner. He was saddled that day by trainer Jorge Delgado, who carried a less-than-sterling record in terms of equine safety and regulatory sanctions.

New York Thunder would be the eighth fatality during racing at this year's Saratoga meet and while each is receiving scrutiny, this final loss in particular points to a need for close examination of industry rules, standards, and practices.

Those factors include examining:

How scratches are reported, specifically in Kentucky, and veterinarians' list standards.
Trainers' records relative to equine deaths per start.
Medication policies that allow multiple injections to a horse in a relatively short period of time—a practice the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority plans to soon address.

Continued on,

Courtesy of Bloodhorse

www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles...s-for-further-review

Excerpt from the article,


www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles...s-for-further-review

REGULATING INJECTIONS

The fact that New York Thunder was injected three times in a two-month period prior to the Jerkens—and those intra-articular injections did not violate HISA regulations—casts a light on how pervasive corticosteroid injections have become in preparing a horse for its next race. While some biological treatments such as IRAP blood treatments and platelet rich plasma treatments (known as PRP) are considered therapeutic and safe, inter-articular corticosteroid injections in the fetlock—the part of a horse's leg most likely to sustain a fatal injury—have become commonplace. Typically, these corticosteroid injections include betamethasone and triamcinolone.

By comparison, IRAP is a treatment that involves harvesting a protein from a horse's own blood that counteracts the effects of inflammation in a joint. PRP treatments also are derived from a horse's own blood.

Of nearly a dozen trainers, owners, racing officials, and regulators contacted by BloodHorse, not one disagreed with the assertion that the use of corticosteroid injections has become much more rampant.

"Injecting has become part of the culture of horse racing. On a widespread basis, people are injecting horses whether they need it or not, which is a terrible way to treat horses," said Scott Chaney, executive director of the California Horse Racing Board. "We need to change the culture out there. There are too many trainers who rely on injections. It absolutely needs to change. Our goal in California is to eliminate corticosteroid injections from horse racing entirely."

New York Thunder with jockey Tyler Gaffalione, heads to the wire and the win in the 21st running of The Amsterdam at the Saratoga Race Course Friday July 28, 2023 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Photo by Skip Dickstein
Photo: Skip Dickstein
New York Thunder Photo by Skip Dickstein
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse agreed that the use of injections is proliferating.

"I believe that not all injections are problematic. Some are for therapeutic purposes. It's like changing the oil in your car," Casse said. "But I feel like there are trainers out there who believe they need to be doing something like injections whether they are needed or not. Some trainers inject more than others."

......I started spiking horses at 14years old.....it was the only effective way to induce the much needed vitamin B12 as part of a conditioning regimen.....who knew that it was actually the cobalt that was inducing appetite as all were led to believe it was the vitamin that did it...:oops: ..all other supplements were added through feed and sometimes water.....all joint issues got rest and Wintergreen massages.... in severe cases poultices and bandages....and those very few with chronic soundness issues stood in ice buckets daily.....but never did they get the needle nor any other anti inflammatory medication....using hypodermics directly into joints is an outright shortcut and seems to be very prevalent in this modern age.....the use of the needle only hastens that final shot when the poor pony pin cushion is finally sent to the great beyond.....:ohmy: