Churchill Downs president on steps taken to improve safety of horses, riders

This year marks the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It's the longest continuously-held sporting event in America. But as celebrated as it is among racing fans, 2023 was a dark year for the Derby when, in the weeks surrounding the "Run for the Roses," a dozen horses went down during training at the track.

An independent investigation cleared Churchill Downs of any fault in the equine deaths.

In a statement, Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, told "CBS Sunday Morning," "Following the events of last Spring, HISA responded quickly to support Churchill Downs in their efforts to identify the causes of the breakdowns and prevent further equine injury. Although we found no single cause connecting the fatalities, as per HISA's recommendations, Churchill Downs has taken several steps to improve track surfaces. These include investing in and introducing new surface maintenance equipment and increasing the frequency of surface testing.

"HISA is working closely with Churchill Downs to ensure the highest standards of integrity and safety are upheld for this year's meet – but it's important to note that ensuring the safety of a horse must happen year-round. HISA has been laser-focused in the past year on enhancing the ecosystem of care surrounding the horses at every track, including making sure track surfaces are in optimal condition, enforcing our anti-doping program, enhancing veterinary oversight, and investing in cutting-edge technology to prevent equine injury."

[The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is a private self-regulatory organization, created by Congress and overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, to implement national standards for safety rules at racetrack facilities.]

Mike Anderson, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack, told "Sunday Morning" correspondent Jim Axelrod, "After the customary investigation that our state and federal regulators performed and our own internal thorough investigation, we could not find one singular cause for that cluster of unfortunate equine injuries. So, we don't have one singular explanation to give you. It was a tragedy. And every equine fatality is a tragedy."

The news last year came in the wake of similar reports of horse deaths at other tracks, including Santa Anita in California, and Belmont Park in New York.

"I think it was somewhat of a wake-up call for the industry," said Anderson, "to ensure that there is unwavering adherence to the regulations and rules, both from a safety perspective and medication perspective. I think the industry has stepped up. And we've taken several key initiatives here to make things even better."

In addition to improved surface management and better training regimens, Anderson noted some technological advances being employed to protect horses, including a biometric device called StrideSAFE, "which is a device that you actually put in the saddle of horses, [that] can detect irregularities of horse's stride. So, we can prevent injury if we take 'em off the track early enough. …

"We've increased our veterinary care. We've added additional resources with our chief medical officer, chief equine medical officer to give him that specialized horse care, whether it's for entry screening or pre-race examinations," he said. "We've created a safety management oversight committee, which includes horse men and women, veterinarians, jockeys, and our management team so we can have candid conversations amongst each other and share thoughts and ideas [on] how to improve safety protocols and take real-time action. …

"Churchill Downs takes safety of our participants very seriously," Anderson said. "There's nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of all of our participants, human and equine. And we take every single safety measure and protocol within our control to ensure that our racetracks are safe to run on, our practices and policies around the conduct of races are followed. In coordination with our regulators, we have the highest standards in place. … We want to protect the integrity of how the public perceives us, our fans, our bettors. And we want them to feel confident that we're takin' all the right steps."

Axelrod asked, "Have you done enough?"

"I think the industry is making improvements and consistently getting better," Anderson replied. "I think there's still room to grow. But here at Churchill Downs, again, we see ourselves as the gold standard. And we don't take that lightly. And we've accepted the challenge. And we're gonna ensure that the highest safety standards are met here."

       
For more info:

• Churchill Downs, Louisville
• Mike Anderson, president, Churchill Downs Racetrack 
• The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs will be held Saturday, May 4

      
See also: 

In:
• Kentucky Derby
• Churchill Downs

David Morgan

David Morgan is senior producer for CBSNews.com and the Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning." He writes about film, music and the arts. He is author of the books "Monty Python Speaks" and "Knowing the Score," and editor of "Sundancing," about the Sundance Film Festival.

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