Horses , Jockeys and Death at the Races

So , this last Saturday I saw three things I'd never seen at the Races.

I enjoy watching Horse Races, No Expert, I still have seen them as a natural,well almost, experential phenomena.

well almost. Wes Snyder , who raced at Charlestown in the 30's, has his 97th birthday, and in one race, the horses placing second, ran a laser proved "deadheat". Then, Tragedy and Catastrophe.


There are many dangers in horse racing for both horse and jockey: a horse can stumble and fall, or fall when jumping an obstacle, exposing both jockey and horse to the danger of being trampled and injured.

Anna Waller, a member of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina, co-authored a four-year long study of jockey injuries and stated to the New York Times that "For every 1,000 jockeys you have riding, over 600 will have medically treated injuries." She added that almost 20% of these were serious head or neck injuries. The study reported 6,545 injuries during the years 1993–1996.[40] More than 100 jockeys were killed in the US between 1950 and 1987.[41]

Horses also face dangers in racing. 1.5 horses die out of every 1000 starts in the US. The U.S. Jockey Club in New York estimates that about 600 horses died at racetracks in 2006. The Jockey Club in Hong Kong reported a far lower figure of .58 horses per 1000 starts. There is speculation that drugs used in horse racing in the US which are banned elsewhere are responsible for the higher death rate in the US.[42]



This was the 1st time I saw a horse Die, well have to be put down,for the Folly of Men. The Horse Fell on the Home Stretch, the Jockey took a Bad fall, but was able to get up and walk to the Ambulance.
This Exquisite Thoroughbred, however was Quietly Frantic, with it's Right Front Hoof/Ankle Dangling , a compound fracture, as it attempted to bolt.

It took almost 15 miutes to get the vet ther,to put this Great Equine, down by injection, on the track. The Horse Suffered.
This may be my last horserace .

Bill Swann D.O.