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

Authors :
Michaela J. Gibson
Fernando J. Roca Fraga
Charlotte F. Bolwell
Erica K. Gee
Chris W. Rogers
Source :
Animals, Vol 12, Iss 4, p 433 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

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.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20762615
Volume :
12
Issue :
4
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Animals
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.5bd90451b8646268687ecf8e7240b4e
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12040433