NEW YORK - The Jockey Club has formed a committee to study equine health, including track safety and the rules of racing, five days after the death of the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby.
Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian when Eight Belles was euthanized on the track moments after she finished second in Saturday's Derby, is among seven people on the Thoroughbred Safety Committee.
Ogden Mills Phipps, chairman of The Jockey Club, said Thursday the committee would be asked to review every facet of equine health, ranging from breeding practices to medication, and to recommend actions to be taken by the horse industry to improve the health and safety of thoroughbreds.
The move by the 114-year-old Jockey Club, the breed registry for North American thoroughbreds, was praised by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee is a major step that will provide the examination of the horse welfare and safety issues so badly needed in the wake of recent catastrophic injuries," said NTRA president Alex Waldrop. "Now, more than ever, no practice, policy or tradition is more important than those that best protect and promote the health of the thoroughbred athlete."
Eight Belles, the first filly since'99 to run in the Derby, finished 4 3/4 lengths behind favourite Big Brown. Shortly after the finish line, she collapsed with two broken front ankles. The shocking scene reminded racing fans of Barbaro's horrific injury two years ago in the Preakness.
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