Horserace Betting Levy Board

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is pleased to announce its support for a major new research initiative led by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), aimed at improving the safety and welfare of Thoroughbred racehorses in training.

The Training Injury Prevention Study, co-funded by HBLB and the Racing Foundation, and endorsed by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), represents a large-scale investigation focused specifically on musculoskeletal injuries sustained during training rather than on the racecourse.

Musculoskeletal injuries remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in racehorses worldwide and while considerable progress has been made in understanding injuries occurring on the racecourse, there remains limited knowledge of those sustained in training. This new study seeks to address that gap by providing vital, evidence-based insights that will help reduce injuries, enhance welfare outcomes and strengthen public confidence.

Over the course of three years, the RVC-led team will:

• Conduct prospective cohort studies in both Flat and National Hunt Thoroughbreds in training.
• Estimate the incidence of common injuries, including fractures, tendon, and joint conditions.
• Develop novel, objective measures of training workload to enable monitoring and management of training intensity over time.
• Investigate how training regimes can be optimised to reduce the risk of exercise-induced injury.
• Trial wearable technologies to assess their practicality for large-scale use in monitoring racehorse workload.

Professor Kristien Verheyen, Professor of Veterinary Clinical Epidemiology at the RVC, said:

“This large-scale study will fill key knowledge gaps on injury occurrence in racehorses in training. Its findings will directly impact racehorse welfare by identifying opportunities for intervention based on ‘best practice’ in current training regimens to reduce the likelihood of injury.”

Tansy Challis, Chief Executive of the Racing Foundation, said:

“As part of our current strategy, our investment in research is focussing on projects that have the potential to provide demonstrable practical benefits to racing and where findings can be effectively disseminated to industry stakeholders. This research project will directly support the safety workstream of the racing’s Horse Welfare Strategy, thus contributing to the industry’s wider focus on racehorse welfare and injury prevention, not just on the racecourse. We really do encourage racehorse trainers to take part in the study, which is being expertly led by Professor Verheyen and her team at the RVC.”

Alan Delmonte, Chief Executive of the HBLB, said:

“This project reflects HBLB’s ongoing commitment to funding research that delivers tangible welfare benefits for racehorses. We hope that as many trainers as possible decide to support this new approach that aims to raise the levels of racehorse health and welfare.”

Racehorse trainers interested in taking part in this study are encouraged to register their no obligation expression of interest at here.

 For more information about the Training Injury Prevention Study, please visit: https://www.rvc.ac.uk/research/projects/training-injury-prevention-study.