On the 12th December, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) released its comprehensive review of the Cheltenham Festival, outlining 17 recommendations for the sport’s showpiece event designed to reduce both horse and jockey injuries and to alleviate longstanding safety concerns.
The far-reaching proposals will have an immediate and dramatic impact on one of racing’s flagship meetings, with the 2019 Festival due to kick-off on the 12th March 2019.
The review, available in full here, comes off the back of a number of years of pressure on the BHA to improve Cheltenham’s safety record which reached a new height following the 2018 meeting. Last year’s Festival saw seven horses die as a result of injuries sustained during racing, including three horses in the final race of the last day.
The report outlines 17 recommendations for Cheltenham after labelling its current fatality rate “unacceptable”.
Primarily, the Festival will reduce the field for two-mile chases from 24 to 20, with the report noting the risks involved with the already higher than average amount of riders involved at the Festival.
More stringent pre-race veterinary checks will also be implemented, with any horse deemed unsuitable to race being immediately withdrawn.
The report highlights the significant role that improved data collection & analysis will play in reducing fatalities at both Cheltenham and across racing. It proposes a detailed analysis be undertaken for jockeys & trainers with “higher than…average” fall rates, with the BHA then seeking to “work constructively” with them to reduce them.
Report includes 17 recommendations which have the objective of reducing the risk of injuries occurring during the Festival & at other @CheltenhamRaces fixtures & across Jump racing as a whole.
The full Cheltenham Review can be found here ?https://t.co/GVtBmRxDzwpic.twitter.com/mtSoaLQ1YO
— BHA Press Office (@BHAPressOffice) 12 December 2018
The BHA also intends to initiate a long-term “major research project” in order to develop predictive models in identifying risk factors associated with jump racing. This “ambitious project” would draw on substantial data sets including horse history, performance, and training history in order to pre-emptively identify falling risks.
Chief Executive of the BHA, Nick Rust, asserted that the review “raises the bar when it comes to the welfare not only at Cheltenham, but across all Jump racing.”
Whilst keen to point out that the sport has seen its fatality rates decline by one third in recent years, Rust spoke about “leaving no stone unturned” when it comes to racing safety.
“Unless we stay well ahead on this issue, it could be a threat to our sport.”
