HISA Releases Annual Metrics Report

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority announced March 17 the release of its 2024 Annual Metrics Report, reaffirming its commitment to transparency and accountability in Thoroughbred racing. The report presents key data collected in 2024 as part of HISA’s Racetrack Safety Program. Information related to HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program will be released later this month by HISA’s independent anti-doping administrator, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit.

In 2024, HISA continued to advance safety and welfare measures for Thoroughbred horses and riders. As previously announced, the 47 racetracks operating under HISA’s ADMC Program and Racetrack Safety Program recorded an aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts. The Jockey Club subsequently published the 2024 data from its Equine Injury Database, announcing a North American racing-related fatality rate of 1.11 per 1,000 starts. Significantly, the 2024 EID shows that racetracks in the United States that are not subject to HISA’s rules have a fatality rate of 1.76 per 1,000 starts, which is almost double the 0.90 per 1,000 starts at HISA racetracks.

“HISA has made significant progress in advancing its mandate across racetrack safety, technological innovation, uniform medication control and equine welfare,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “HISA pursued these initiatives with input and support from the many racing stakeholders who are the backbone of the sport, and their collective efforts have led to meaningful improvements in our safety metrics. We look forward to continuing to work with the industry to make further inroads.”

The rate of 0.90 is a 35% decrease from the rate of 1.39 reported by the EID in 2021—the last full year prior to the launch of HISA’s Racetrack Safety Program—and a 27% decrease from the rate of 1.23 that HISA reported last year. It also represents a 55% decline since 2009, when the EID first began reporting such fatalities, at a rate of 2.00.

The 2024 report marks the first time in Thoroughbred racing history that nationwide data on training-related fatalities has been published in the United States (and, to HISA’s knowledge, internationally). By implementing standardized tracking and reporting for training-related fatalities and sharing such data on a by-state and by-racetrack basis, HISA is providing unprecedented transparency and knowledge-sharing among industry stakeholders. In 2024, racetracks operating under HISA’s rules (and the training facilities owned by them) reported 181 training-related deaths, equating to 0.50 deaths per 1,000 workouts (i.e., the official timed works of racehorses preparing for an official start). This is a conservative ratio, as HISA’s training-related data includes fatalities that occur during all training activities, not just workouts.

While it is too early to establish trends in combined racing- and training-related fatality data, transparency is a critical first step in identifying risk factors and developing targeted safety initiatives. The information collected on training-related fatalities has served to expand the already significant database HISA has built and will be instructive as the organization moves into the next phase of its data-driven efforts—identifying patterns to help racing stakeholders make more informed decisions regarding their horses and proposing guidance and rules designed to make training safer.

The full report can be accessed here: 2024 Annual Metrics Report – Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.