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

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Retrospective stipendiary stewards’ reports of race day events during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 Thoroughbred flat racing season in New Zealand were examined to describe the reasons and outcomes for race day veterinary examinations of horses. Most reports were recorded as non-incident as a result of routine screening or poor performance. The large proportion of poor performance examinations reflected the role of stewards in maintaining racing integrity and animal welfare. The lower incidence of fatalities and injuries reported compared to overseas racing indicates a lower risk profile for New Zealand Thoroughbred racing. ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to describe the incident and non-incident reports of Thoroughbred flat racing in New Zealand. Retrospective stipendiary stewards’ reports of race day events during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 racing season were examined. The primary injury and reporting outcomes were analysed to assess the horse- and race-level risk factors associated with the occurrence of incident and non-incident reports. The number of incident and non-incident events and binomial exact 95% confidence intervals were calculated per 1000 horse starts. Most reports were for non-incidents and examinations were requested for poor performance (10.3 per 1000 races, 95% CI = 9.5–11.1). Horses running in open-class races had greater odds of having an incident than horses in lower-rating classes. The incidence of musculoskeletal injuries (1.3 per 1000 races, 95% CI = 1.13–1.40) and fractures (0.6 per 1000 races, 95% CI = 0.39–0.74) were low and similar to previous New Zealand reports. There was a low incidence of epistaxis (0.8 per 1000 races, 95% CI = 0.69–0.92) possibly due to trainers screening susceptible horses before entering them in races, due to the regulatory consequences of an episode of epistaxis during a race.