WAVE 3 - Louisville, KYChurchill Downs announces measures to make racing safer

Churchill Downs announces measures to make racing safer

By Connie Leonard - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Ever since the devastating death of the filly Eight Belles in Kentucky Derby 134, the call for safety has been louder than ever before. Now, Churchill Downs is announcing new measures to help make Derby 135 and all its racing, safer for horses and jockeys.

When second-place finisher Eight Belles went down at Derby 134 and had to be euthanized on the track, it happened before millions of shocked race fans and led to congressional hearings. 

"It's just something that is the right thing to do for the industry," said Jim Gates, Churchill Downs general manager. 

Monday, Gates unveiled new safety initiatives for all its tracks. Gates says the program, called "Safety from start to finish," which is showcased at a booth inside Gate 17, is not a reaction to the pressure of Eight Belles. While many measures like upgrading equipment for horse and rider are ongoing, others are brand new for Kentucky Derby 135.  Major changes include: Third party testing of track surfaces and expanding drug testing to what's known as "supertesting." 

"It's a test for the existence of over 100 illegal drugs that is going to be done on the winner of every race at a Churchill Downs race track," Gates explained.

Gates told WAVE 3 one other entry will also be chosen. Steroids are banned and there is also the freezing of blood and urine samples, similar to what the World Anti Doping Agency does with Olympic athletes. 

"Samples will be frozen and if there is a designer drug of sorts or there's a new test that's devised in the coming years, we can take those out of storage and can test for the existence of that drug," said Gates. 

Although the illegal drug side of the sport gets a lot of attention, Gates said most trainers do the right thing, but even a small percentage is still a failure of the system. At a cost of at least $1 million a year, Gates hopes the program not only reduces fatalities on the track but also beefs up the integrity of the sport.

"We want the fans to feel good about our sport," he said. 

There will also be limits on the number of horses competing in certain races. For example, a race that requires horses to get to the first turn quicker might have a smaller field. The Derby field will stay the same at 20 horses. Officials say it has been bigger at other times in history and they feel 20 is a safe number.