In the wake of several catastrophic breakdowns at Aqueduct this winter, the New York Racing Association will consider curtailing racing over the Big A’s inner track when the NYRA board meets Jan. 25, according to a release yesterday.
That could include “[reducing] the number of racing days in a week during the inner-track season at Aqueduct” and “[limiting] the number of races on a given day.” The release noted while racing on the inner track is scheduled through March 30, “an earlier move to the main track would be considered, weather permitting.”
Another proposal on the board’s agenda is to “install a synthetic surface for the inner track at Aqueduct for the 2013-14 Winter season.”
NYRA also announced that new board chairman David Skorton and board member Anthony Bonomo, chief of NYRA’s Equine Health and Safety Committee, have established the position of Equine Veterinary Medical Director, to whom the NYRA veterinary staff will report.
The director will head a Mortality Review Board, as recommended by the New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety, which issued its report Sept. 28 following months of investigating a rash of fatal breakdowns over Aqueduct’s inner track last winter.
“NYRA is taking immediate steps to try to prevent more catastrophic injures from occurring,” Skorton said. “In addition to these actions, we will soon be making decisions on several specific operational issues in the interest of equine health and safety.”
“We will do everything to protect the jockeys and the horses,” Bonomo said.