Section 8: Safety Considerations
The HISA Racetrack Safety Program
The Racetrack Safety Program is built around reducing equine injuries and fatalities through uniform national standards for training and racing. Its core elements include pre-race veterinary oversight, surface standards, shoeing and equipment rules, void-claim protections, and mandatory injury and fatality reporting.
Veterinary Oversight
- Pre-race examinations: A regulatory veterinarian examines every horse on race day. A horse showing lameness or any condition that makes racing unsafe is scratched.
- The veterinarians' list: Horses that are unsound, ill, or otherwise unfit are placed on the veterinarians' list and may not race until they are removed by passing the required examination (and, where applicable, a workout).
- Treatment records and timing rules: Treating veterinarians must keep records, and certain treatments and procedures are prohibited within defined windows before a race or workout.
Surface and Environmental Safety
- Surface maintenance: Racing surfaces are maintained and monitored for composition, depth, moisture, and consistency under HISA standards; tracks document their maintenance practices.
- Weather: Stewards and track management may delay, postpone, or cancel racing for lightning, extreme heat, or unsafe footing.
- Continuous monitoring: The track is inspected before and during the racing day, and outriders maintain order on the course.
Injury Reporting and Data
- Mandatory reporting: Racetracks must report racing and training injuries and fatalities to HISA.
- Necropsy program: Fatalities are subject to necropsy examination so that contributing factors can be studied.
- Equine Injury Database: Aggregated injury data is used to track trends and target safety interventions; reducing the rate of equine fatalities is a stated objective of HISA.
Void Claim and Horse-Welfare Protections
- Void claims: A claim is voided if the claimed horse is determined to have died, been euthanized, suffered an injury, or been placed on the veterinarians' list during or shortly after the race — protecting buyers and discouraging the running of unsound horses.
- Whip/crop limits: The national crop rule limits strikes and prescribes a padded crop, balancing encouragement with horse welfare.
- Anti-doping: The ADMC Program protects both the integrity of competition and the welfare of horses by preventing the masking of pain or injury.
Jockey Safety
- Mandatory approved helmets and safety vests in racing and training, with damaged equipment removed from service.
- On-site medical staff and ambulance coverage are required during racing.
- Gate-approval requirements ensure horses break safely, and outriders are positioned to catch loose horses and prevent collisions.