Race-Level Reporting of Incidents during Two Seasons (2015/16 to 2016/17) of Harness Racing in New Zealand

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The objective of this study was to describe the incident reporting of harness racing in New Zealand. Retrospective stipendiary stewards’ reports of race day events during the 2015/16 to 2016/17 racing season were examined to describe the reasons and outcomes for race day veterinary examinations of Standardbred horses in New Zealand. The primary reason for examination of horses after a race was due to poor performance. Poor performance was considered if a horse’s performance in the race was lower than its previous race, or lower than expected as reflected by the odds at the tote (reflecting the amount of money placed/gambled on the horse via the official betting agency). The lack of fatalities and injuries reported indicates a low risk profile in harness racing and highlights the stewards’ role in maintaining racing integrity and animal welfare. ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to describe the incident and non-incident reporting of harness racing in New Zealand, the primary injury and reporting outcomes, and to examine horse- and race-level variables associated with the odds of these outcomes. Retrospective stipendiary stewards’ reports of race day events during the 2015/16 to 2016/17 racing seasons were examined. The number of incident and non-incident events and binomial exact 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated per 1000 horse starts. Most reports were for non-incidents and an examination was requested for poor performance (11.06 per 1000 starts (95% CI = 10.23–11.89). Races with more than eight participants were 1.9 (95% CI = 1.13–3.4) times more likely to have an incident than races with eight or less participants. The low incidence of significant injuries such as fractures (0.13 per 1000 starts (95% CI = 0.03–0.23) reflects the lower risk of injury in harness racing compared to Thoroughbred racing. The high incidence of poor performance reports highlights the steward’s role in maintaining animal welfare to a high standard.