Jockey Falls, Injuries, and Fatalities Associated With Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Racing in California, 2007-2011.

BackgroundDespite the popularity of the horse racing industry in the United States and the wide recognition that horse racing is one of the most hazardous occupations, little focused research into the prevention of falls by and injuries to jockeys has been conducted.PurposeTo describe the incidence rates and characteristics of falls and injuries to Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing jockeys in the state of California.Study designDescriptive epidemiology study.MethodsData on race-day falls and injuries were extracted from jockey accident reports submitted to the California Horse Racing Board from January 2007 to December 2011. Denominator data, number of jockey race rides, were obtained from commercial and industry databases. Jockey fall, injury, and fatality incidence rates and ratios in Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse flat races were estimated using Poisson regression. Characteristics of falls and injuries are described and compared.ResultsIn Thoroughbred races, 184 jockey injuries occurred from 360 reported jockey falls, 180,646 race rides, 23,500 races, and 3350 race meetings. In Quarter Horse races, 85 jockey injuries occurred from 145 jockey falls, 46,106 race rides, 6320 races, and 1053 race meetings. Jockey falls occurred at a rate of 1.99 falls per 1000 rides in Thoroughbred races, with 51% of falls resulting in jockey injury, and 3.14 falls per 1000 rides in Quarter Horse races, with 59% of falls resulting in jockey injury. The majority of falls occurred during a race, with catastrophic injury or sudden death of the horse reported as the most common cause in both Thoroughbred (29%) and Quarter Horse (44%) races. During the period studied, 1 jockey fatality resulted from a fall. Jockey fall rates were lower but injury rates were comparable to those reported internationally.ConclusionOn average, a licensed jockey in California can expect to have a fall every 502 rides in Thoroughbred races and every 318 rides in Quarter Horse races. While jockey fall rates were lower, injury rates were similar to those in other racing jurisdictions. The high proportion of jockey falls caused by horse fatalities should be further investigated

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THOROUGHBRED BREEDER/OWNER INCENTIVE POLICIES

Thoroughbred incentive programs are subsidy policies funded from state parimutuel tax revenue designed to promote regional race horse breeding and ownership. At issue is an ongoing debate concerning the effectiveness of alternative policies. Empirical results indicate that incentive programs have a positive economic effect, but gains to Thoroughbred breeders can be obtained by reallocating tax revenue to non-restricted purses. A policy allocating tax revenue ton non-restricted purses shifts yearling demand and increases prices, while breeder subsidies shift only the supply function and therefore lower prices. Consequently, breeder revenues increase in response to a policy that favors non-restricted purses over subsidies.incentive programs, parimutual horse racing, subsidy, tax, Thoroughbred, Agricultural and Food Policy,

PRICE EXPECTATIONS AND SUPPLY RESPONSE IN THE THOROUGHBRED YEARLING MARKET

Limited information is available concerning price determination in the thoroughbred yearling market. A recursive model incorporating price expectations and biological constraints is used to estimate supply and demand functions for thoroughbred horses. Empirical results characterize a market with inelastic supply and elastic demand that converges to equilibrium under static conditions. Purses were identified as the most influential variable impacting price. Comparative statics illustrate the effectiveness of purses as a policy instrument for the thoroughbred industry. Federal tax policy also was found to have a significant impact on the decisions to breed or invest in thoroughbred yearlings.Elasticity, Parimutual horse racing, Price determination, Price flexibility, Purses, Thoroughbred, Yearling, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

Some Evidence of Information Aggregation in Auction Prices

Paper was previously titled "The Informativeness of Prices as Quality Signals in the Thoroughbred Industry"Efficient Markets Hypothesis, information aggregation, auctions, Thoroughbred industry, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

A genome-wide association study demonstrates significant genetic variation for fracture risk in Thoroughbred racehorses

Background: Thoroughbred racehorses are subject to non-traumatic distal limb bone fractures that occur during racing and exercise. Susceptibility to fracture may be due to underlying disturbances in bone metabolism which have a genetic cause. Fracture risk has been shown to be heritable in several species but this study is the first genetic analysis of fracture risk in the horse. Results: Fracture cases (n = 269) were horses that sustained catastrophic distal limb fractures while racing on UK racecourses, necessitating euthanasia. Control horses (n = 253) were over 4 years of age, were racing during the same time period as the cases, and had no history of fracture at the time the study was carried out. The horses sampled were bred for both flat and National Hunt (NH) jump racing. 43,417 SNPs were employed to perform a genome-wide association analysis and to estimate the proportion of genetic variance attributable to the SNPs on each chromosome using restricted maximum likelihood (REML). Significant genetic variation associated with fracture risk was found on chromosomes 9, 18, 22 and 31. Three SNPs on chromosome 18 (62.05 Mb – 62.15 Mb) and one SNP on chromosome 1 (14.17 Mb) reached genome-wide significance (p <0.05) in a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Two of the SNPs on ECA 18 were located in a haplotype block containing the gene zinc finger protein 804A (ZNF804A). One haplotype within this block has a protective effect (controls at 1.95 times less risk of fracture than cases, p = 1 × 10-4), while a second haplotype increases fracture risk (cases at 3.39 times higher risk of fracture than controls, p = 0.042). Conclusions: Fracture risk in the Thoroughbred horse is a complex condition with an underlying genetic basis. Multiple genomic regions contribute to susceptibility to fracture risk. This suggests there is the potential to develop SNP-based estimators for genetic risk of fracture in the Thoroughbred racehorse, using methods pioneered in livestock genetics such as genomic selection. This information would be useful to racehorse breeders and owners, enabling them to reduce the risk of injury in their horses

Hypoxic training increases maximal oxygen consumption in Thoroughbred horses well-trained in normoxia.

Hypoxic training is effective for improving athletic performance in humans. It increases maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O2max) more than normoxic training in untrained horses. However, the effects of hypoxic training on well-trained horses are unclear. We measured the effects of hypoxic training on V̇O2max of 5 well-trained horses in which V̇O2max had not increased over 3 consecutive weeks of supramaximal treadmill training in normoxia which was performed twice a week. The horses trained with hypoxia (15% inspired O2) twice a week. Cardiorespiratory valuables were analyzed with analysis of variance between before and after 3 weeks of hypoxic training. Mass-specific V̇O2max increased after 3 weeks of hypoxic training (178 ± 10 vs. 194 ± 12.3 ml O2 (STPD)/(kg × min), P<0.05) even though all-out training in normoxia had not increased V̇O2max. Absolute V̇O2max also increased after hypoxic training (86.6 ± 6.2 vs. 93.6 ± 6.6 l O2 (STPD)/min, P<0.05). Total running distance after hypoxic training increased 12% compared to that before hypoxic training; however, the difference was not significant. There were no significant differences between pre- and post-hypoxic training for end-run plasma lactate concentrations or packed cell volumes. Hypoxic training may increase V̇O2max even though it is not increased by normoxic training in well-trained horses, at least for the durations of time evaluated in this study. Training while breathing hypoxic gas may have the potential to enhance normoxic performance of Thoroughbred horses

Standardized exercise tests in horses : current situation and future perspectives

The purpose of this literature review is to clarify how exercise capacity can be measured in horses and which standardized exercise tests (SETs) exist. In this review, the measurement of the exercise capacity of horses is discussed and the standardized exercise tests (SET) are described. Two main types of SETs are used. Laboratory or treadmill tests are easy to standardize and provide more options to use all kinds of measuring devices, since the horse stays on the treadmill. On the other hand, field tests are conducted under the natural conditions associated with the specific sports discipline, and are easier to implement in the training schedule. However, field tests encompass interfering variables, such as weather conditions, ground surface conditions and the rider or jockey. Several variables are measured in order to calculate the fitness level which may be expressed by different parameters, such as V200 (speed at a heart rate of 200 beats per minute), V1a4 (speed at a blood lactic acid level of 4 mmol/L) and VO2max (maximum oxygen uptake)

Winter Barley Variety Trial

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the localvore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Many farmers are also interested in barley as a high-energy concentrate source for their livestock. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting. In 2011-2012, UVM Extension conducted a winter barley trial to evaluate the yield and quality of publicly available malting and feed barley varieties