Observations Related to Catastrophic Injuries in Racing Quarter Horses From 2005 to 2008

1. Introduction
Catastrophic injuries in racing have drawn significant media attention over the years. Efforts at reducing the number of fatalities in racing have increased because of this attention.^a  Factors causing these injuries have been studied extensively in Thoroughbreds over the years to determine the cause of catastrophic racing injuries and thereby reduce the incidence.^1–4  Catastrophic injuries in Quarter Horses have not been studied to the same extent as in the Thoroughbred industry.^5,6  To increase the safety of both the horse and jockey involved in Quarter Horse racing, it is important to gather information about the horses that are catastrophically injured. The aim of this paper is to present the information gathered from examining the race videos of catastrophically injured Quarter Horses at one track over a 4-yr period.

2. Materials and Methods
The descriptive information from all Quarter Horses suffering a catastrophic injury while racing at a track hosting multiple breeds from 2005 to 2008 was collected. This included age, race type, race on the card, post position, trainer, and jockey. Videos from each race when a catastrophic injury occurred were reviewed. The footage included the routine race coverage as viewed from the side as well as a supplemental head-on view. Information recorded included any observed incidents such as bumping or stumbling, time when the injury was sustained, if the horse fell, and if the jockey came off. [...]