AI integration to improve welfare of racehorses

British horse racing’s welfare board on Tuesday unveiled a five-year strategy that would use artificial intelligence (AI), wearable technology and lifetime tracking of horses to prevent injuries, reduce falls and improve horses’ well-being away from the racetrack.

The strategy sets out 20 priorities to improve the welfare and safety of thoroughbred horses throughout their lives, spanning areas including veterinary research, injury prevention, the training environment and aftercare, and extending the scope of oversight from foaling through training to life after racing.

Horse racing is Britain’s second most-watched sport, but concern for equine welfare remains its biggest reputational challenge, with falls, fatalities and the treatment of horses at key racing festivals such as Cheltenham and Aintree under constant public scrutiny.

Racehorse Mr. Disrespectful and jockey Tiago Pereira race in the Chosen Vron Stakes horse race in Del Mar, California, on Saturday last week.

Photo: Benoit Photo via AP

Fatality rates in jumps racing were largely unchanged at 0.47 percent last year even after measures to improve the safety of fences such as changing the color of markings in 2022.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) says it extended the scope of its reporting to cover more horses in 2021 and that it would take time for the safety improvements to take full effect.

The rate of fallers dropped below 2 percent on a five-year average for the first time last year, BHA data shows.

Work to improve safety and reduce fatalities is ongoing and a priority for the sport, Horse Welfare Board independent chair Minette Batters said.

“It’s never going to be a case of accepting fatalities,” she said. “It’s what can we continue to do to make the sport safer that sits front and center of everything we’re doing.”

Collecting more data on all aspects of a horse’s life would enable trainers, vets and racecourse officials to spot issues such as weakness or heart problems before they lead to on-racecourse injuries, racing experts said.

This can start as early as birth by educating breeders on how antibiotic use in foals can impact soundness, or in training by using heart monitors and wearable tech to detect equine illness or underperformance.

“We’re standing at the beginnings of a technology revolution in training of horses, in management of horses,” Horse Welfare Board independent member and veterinary surgeon Fred Barrelet said. “It’s also becoming accepted and part of the young next generation of trainers and breeders’ repertoire and armory for managing their horses.”

The strategy also includes an ambition to track the full lifetime of all horses bred for racing in Britain through the Retraining of Racehorses program.