Initial speakers during the 72^nd Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., discussed successful initiatives and technological advancements aimed at improving the horse racing industry.

The Aug. 1 conference, presented by The Jockey Club, began with a welcome from TJC chair Stuart Janney III and remarks from Jim Gagliano, TJC’s president and COO. The Round Table was livestreamed, and a replay will be posted at jockeyclub.com.

Gagliano noted TJC’s investment in various initiatives to revitalize the Thoroughbred racing industry, such as a successful influencer campaign with America’s Best Racing and other stakeholders called “A Stake in Stardom,” which generated large increases in online engagement and video views, as shown in a recent video below with social media influencer Griffin Johnson as he visits Churchill Downs. He also outlined the organization’s strategic plan for the future.

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America’s Best Racing, like BloodHorse, is a TJC company. BloodHorse is owned in partnership by The Jockey Club Information Systems and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association.

Gagliano said the TJC and its companies, such as Equibase, continue to pursue equine safety improvements, a tracing and naming-assistance component to its breed registry, tracking technology called real-time kinematics, a pilot ratings-and-handicap system, and a major data licensing agreement with Fox Design Thinking, also known as Halo AI, which plans to build software systems to assist stakeholders with breeding, sales, and racing decisions.

He spotlighted another project headed by track surface expert Dr. Mick Peterson that supports the development of new moisture-sensing technology.

“Improving the safety of Thoroughbred horse racing remains a longtime priority for The Jockey Club,” Gagliano said.

He further announced the TJC’s purchase of TLore, a racehorse management system, and discussed plans to introduce later this fall a new value-added service for every breeder of a registered Thoroughbred that will allow them to access free lifetime past performances for every horse they register.

He concluded by sharing two recommendations of The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee: calling for all racetracks to fully participate in the Maintenance Quality System and recommending that all racing-related necropsies be performed using the 2020 American Association Equine Practitioners Guidelines for the Necropsy of Racehorses as a minimum standard.

Update From California

Later, toward the end of the pre-intermission session of speakers, Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for 1/ST Racing, shared her experience from Santa Anita Park and other tracks operated by the company across the country, which includes Gulfstream Park in Florida and Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland.

Noting the dramatic reduction in equine fatalities at Santa Anita since a cluster of catastrophic injuries there in 2019 threatened racing in the state, she further spoke of technological advances by 1/ST Racing through its 1/ST Technology division.

Attendees at the 2024 Round Table Conference. (Jockey Club photo)

One of these is Racehorse 360, a program that assists tracks with writing condition books and identifying eligible horses for races. It also provides notifications to trainers and allows for the prioritization of workout requests based on risk factors. Track veterinarians use Racehorse 360 to make better-informed decisions, she said.

1/ST Racing further uses artificial intelligence to analyze video footage and identify horses on a track, providing veterinarians with real-time information. Utilizing track optics can identify potential issues in racehorses, she said.

She said they have twice retrained the AI program, which she said would become smarter as more data is collected and the program refined.

“The improvement in identifying horses with issues has been impressive from my perspective,” she said. “As of today, of the clips sent by track optics, approximately 75% are determined to be worth following up by track veterinarians.”

Preceding Benson’s presentation were comments from Gary Fenton, chair of Thoroughbred Owners of California. Fenton expressed the importance of California racing to the entire country and called for unity and collaboration to protect and preserve horse racing in his state. Unlike most other major racing states, the racing industry in California is not supplemented by gaming.

Speaking from Del Mar, with a live video of his remarks delivered to the Round Table via FanDuel Racing, he asked that California be considered by owners and trainers for racing, noting how the addition of 200 horses would bolster racing there. He said that could come by four leading trainers opting to bring strings of 50 horses apiece to California.

“It won’t take much to improve California’s already premium brand,” he said.

Safety Runs First

Meghan Rodgers, senior vice president of public affairs for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, spoke before Fenton and emphasized the achievements of the NTRA’s “Safety Runs First” advertising campaign, which aims to promote the current initiatives in place. She showed an advertisement that appeared on NBC prior to this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.

She said the “Safety Runs First” campaign has “resulted in 190 million total impressions. And now that’s people that stopped and actually registered our message and it contributed to 100,000 clicks and ‘Safety Runs First’ website,” she noted. “Our message was seen by millions of people, and analytics and anecdotal evidence both indicate that our message is resonating.”

Before the Round Table’s intermission, a video hosted by legendary track announcer Tom Durkin paid tribute to Nancy Kelly, a longtime TJC employee who died in February at age 71. Janney announced that revered Kelly would posthumously receive the Dinny Phipps Award, and he encouraged donations in her name to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, where she served as vice president of development. She also was the executive director of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation.