Race-Level Reporting of Incidents during Two Seasons (2015/16 to 2016/17) of Harness Racing in New Zealand

Simple Summary The objective of this study was to describe the incident reporting of harness racing in New Zealand. Retrospective stipendiary stewards' reports of race day events during the 2015/16 to 2016/17 racing season were examined to describe the reasons and outcomes for race day veterinary examinations of Standardbred horses in New Zealand. The primary reason for examination of horses after a race was due to poor performance. Poor performance was considered if a horse's performance in the race was lower than its previous race, or lower than expected as reflected by the odds at the tote (reflecting the amount of money placed/gambled on the horse via the official betting agency). The lack of fatalities and injuries reported indicates a low risk profile in harness racing and highlights the stewards' role in maintaining racing integrity and animal welfare. The objective of this study was to describe the incident and non-incident reporting of harness racing in New Zealand, the primary injury and reporting outcomes, and to examine horse- and race-level variables associated with the odds of these outcomes. Retrospective stipendiary stewards' reports of race day events during the 2015/16 to 2016/17 racing seasons were examined. The number of incident and non-incident events and binomial exact 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated per 1000 horse starts. Most reports were for non-incidents and an examination was requested for poor performance (11.06 per 1000 starts (95% CI = 10.23-11.89). Races with more than eight participants were 1.9 (95% CI = 1.13-3.4) times more likely to have an incident than races with eight or less participants. The low incidence of significant injuries such as fractures (0.13 per 1000 starts (95% CI = 0.03-0.23) reflects the lower risk of injury in harness racing compared to Thoroughbred racing. The high incidence of poor performance reports highlights the steward's role in maintaining animal welfare to a high standard.