The Kentucky Derby has been through two world wars, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and most recently, a life-crippling pandemic. Now, on his 150th anniversary of America's most famous race, the sport of kings faces another formidable enemy: itself.
Last year, seven horses died under Churchill Downs' iconic twin spiers during the week of the marquee event, two of them in the hours leading up to the Derby. Days later, five more people were fatally injured, prompting Churchill officials to move the race to another racetrack in Kentucky.
It got even worse. A stallion trained by Bob Baffert, one of the sport's most high-profile and controversial trainers, was at Pimlico Racecourse just hours before Baffert saddled the winner of the Preakness Stakes, the second round of the Triple Crown. Died. In June, two more horses not trained by Baffert died in races surrounding the Belmont Stakes.
At New York's historic Saratoga Race Course, 13 horses died while racing or training at the sport's signature summer event, some of which appeared poised to win the race. Two horses broke down near the finish line on national television.
Over the past 12 months, The New York Times has analyzed classified documents and secret recordings produced by law enforcement agencies, leading to an investigation into why so many horses that are supposed to be in top physical condition fall ill so often. As part of this, we obtained an exclusive interview. In the documentary “The New York Times Presents: Broken Horses,” now available on Hulu, The Times explores reckless breeding and doping practices, compromises between veterinarians and trainers, and potentially life-saving horses. It revealed that decades of resistance to change have cost billions of dollars. – The dollar ecosystem is in crisis, and the social acceptance of one of America's oldest sports is at risk.
“There is a real sense that this is a turning point and if we don't act, it may be too late,” said Lisa Lazarus, chief executive of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). Regulate sports.
Horse racing officials and enthusiasts in Louisville, Kentucky, held their breath on Saturday, hoping that all horses in the race will be able to race around the track safely. To avoid last year's disaster, an army of veterinarians, aided by artificial intelligence, will comb through months of medical records and scrutinize horses every morning with the rigor of a diamond jeweler. Data from high-tech motion sensors monitors horses, and old-fashioned “bucket brigade” as well as state-of-the-art equipment are often dispatched to pick up stones from racetracks that authorities determine may have been involved. I plan to Last year's cluster death incident.
Safie Joseph Jr., who was suspended by Churchill last year after two horses trained by Churchill collapsed and died before the Derby, plans to enter one horse in the race. He was reinstated after necropsies on these horses were inconclusive.
“They were going through a trying time,” Joseph said. “We let the process run its course. We knew it was going to happen, so we got through it.”
HISA investigated the deaths at Churchill and Saratoga and concluded that several factors likely contributed, including the frequency of high-intensity exercise. No illegal drugs were detected in the deceased horse. The majority of injuries involved the ball and socket joint. Some of the horses that died had received corticosteroid injections into their joints within 30 days of the race. Currently, that is allowed, but HISA is proposing to ban the shot for less than 30 days.
But the race issue goes far beyond what happened last year. An FBI investigation that began in 2015 led to nearly three years of wiretaps on him that became the soundtrack for his dangerous doping ring, which stretched from Florida to New Jersey. The central figure was a veterinarian and drug dispenser named Dr. Seth Fishman, who boasted on wiretaps that he had connections with horse racing's “top trainers and top horse owners.” He knew what he was doing, and at least in one case he wanted to make sure his client understood that he was breaking the rules.
“What I'm saying is, if you give something to a horse, it's doping. So don't mess around,'' Dr. Fishman was heard saying to one person over the wiretap.
This investigation revealed weaknesses in America's testing agencies. Acting on a tip from an informant that some horses had recently been doped, FBI agents posing as horse racing officials from New Jersey took samples from a group of horses and collected samples from Hong Kong, considered the world's finest. Sent to the research institute. Evidence of illegal blood doping was detected.
Doping was often fatal. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said a three-year investigation had uncovered evidence that at least 20 horses died after being administered illegal drugs by racetrack officials.
“No one believed anyone would go to prison for this act,” said Sean Richards, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. However, more than 30 trainers, veterinarians and drug salespeople have filed charges or been convicted and sent to prison.
For the third year in a row, the Derby will be run without horses trained by Baffert. In 2021, his stallion Medina Spirit won the Derby but was later disqualified after testing positive for betamethasone, a powerful corticosteroid used to reduce pain and inflammation. Churchill Downs banned him from the track for two years, and over the summer extended his suspension until 2024.
Mr. Baffert's horses have won the Derby six times, and Mr. Baffert has been named a champion trainer four times. He ranks third on the lifetime earnings list, with a purse of over $355 million. Baffert also has a long record of code violations. Regulatory records show horses he trained have failed 30 drug tests over 40 years, most notably Medina, who died after training at a California race track five months after starting the Derby.・It's Spirit. At least 77 horses have died under his care since 2000, according to California Horse Racing Commission data.
Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said of the positive test at the Derby, “Because Bob Baffert has not accepted responsibility for what happened, we will continue his suspension for another year.'' I did,” he said. “This is about the game and the product as a whole, assuring the public that they can trust what is deemed to be fair and safe. The rules must apply to everyone. yeah.”
Baffert returned to the Triple Crown last year to win the Preakness Stakes with National Treasure in Baltimore. But hours earlier, another stallion, Havname Meltdown, suffered a fatal injury during a race and had to be euthanized at the track.
The Times commissioned two veterinarians, Dr. Sheila Lyons and Dr. Kate Papp, to independently review records related to the 2023 fatal crashes at Churchill Downs and Pimlico. Dr Lyons said the autopsy results from Churchill, while clear, were incomplete due to a lack of medication and treatment history for each horse.
“What I found was that these horses had significant pre-existing medical conditions, not just in the fractured limb, but in their other limbs as well,” Dr. Lyons said. “We don't even know if these horses were running on legal medications.”
In the case of Havna Meltdown, Dr. Lyons and Dr. Papp believe that with careful veterinary care from both his personal veterinarian and the regulatory agency responsible for ensuring the health of the horse before running it in a race. They agreed that his death could have been prevented. Each of Mr. Havna Meltdown's bulbars has lesions, which occur when the cartilage wears down due to repetitive injury.
“This horse had fractures in all four limbs, not just the leg where the fracture occurred,” Lyons said. “This is easy to diagnose. If every truck that practices veterinarian vehicles had an X-ray machine, it would take about 10 minutes.”
Lyons said regulatory veterinarians noted abnormalities in the stallion's range of motion and gait, but ultimately concluded the horse was healthy enough to compete. In addition, Havna Meltdown had corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid (a painkiller and anti-inflammatory) injected into both hock joints and both nostrils a month before his last race. Joint injections are allowed by HISA up to his 14 days before the race.
“Havna Meltdown should not have raced that day. Absolutely not under any circumstances,” Dr. Papp said based on his review of the autopsy results. “Baffert is the primary caretaker of this horse. In my opinion, he is responsible for what happened.”
Mr. Baffert's attorney, Clark Brewster, said in an emailed statement: Mr. Baffert cares deeply about the horses in his care and is committed to their health, safety and overall welfare. ”
In August 2023, Baffert's longtime veterinarian, Dr. Vince Baker, was accused of administering “dangerous drugs'' to racehorses, including Medina Spirit, at the request of trainers who had not been examined by a medical doctor. , was sentenced to four years' probation by the California State Board of Veterinarians. Is there a need for inspection? ”
This will be the first derby to fall under HISA's anti-doping and drug control program, which came into effect on May 22, two days after Havna Meltdown's death. HISA is tasked with enforcing uniform safety and medication rules in U.S. Thoroughbred racing, but has faced an uphill battle since it was created by Congress in 2020 to replace state regulators.
However, in 2023, more than 50,000 samples were collected from 21,750 horses, resulting in 246 positive tests and the identification of 58 banned substances. Authorities searched 141 barns across 38 trucks and recovered five types of prohibited drugs, resulting in 11 possession cases. He received 122 calls to the anonymous tip line, more than 40 of which led to investigations.
“Are we ahead of the curve now? Probably not,” Lazarus said of being able to detect performance-enhancing drugs. “But we have a good chance of getting there.”
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association acknowledges that horse racing has an image problem and recently launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign called Safety Run First that will air during the Triple Crown.
One change HISA praised was the use of six drug testing laboratories to achieve uniformity and faster turnaround times. However, the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory was recently shut down due to personnel and quality issues. The university and HISA declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing.
The fatal injury rate increased slightly from 1.25 in 2022 to 1.32 per 1,000 starts in 2023, the lowest since 2009, when the Jockey Club started its database. According to HISA, there were 1.23 deaths per 1,000 races at racetracks under its jurisdiction. (Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Nebraska are excluded because they oppose HISA regulations.) Neither data set includes training deaths.
By 2025, Lazarus said, authorities want to create a public database of racing and training fatalities as they occur, similar to those maintained by California and New York. She also said HISA is working on standardizing autopsy procedures.
She acknowledged that there are limits to HISA's authority to cover horses that have timed training on racetracks. Breeding and sales remain largely unregulated, and practices such as repeated breeding of unhealthy horses, corrective surgery and drug use are believed to be widespread. Three major Thoroughbred sales companies recently announced that they will strengthen their drug policies to more closely align with HISA's drug policy starting July 1. However, enforcement of such policies is up to companies, and details have not been disclosed.
Arthur Hancock III, who has campaigned for reform with his wife Stacey since the 1990s, says authority must succeed. In 2013, the couple formed the Water Hey Oats Alliance to eliminate drugs from horse racing, and has grown the organization to more than 1,800 industry members, advocating for jockeys and others to treat thoroughbreds as athletes rather than products. It embarrassed veterinarians, politicians and regulators.
“There's a new sheriff in town, and he's serious,” Hancock, a fourth-generation breeder, said of HISA. “If we don't get rid of drugs and thugs, they will get rid of us.”
