HORSES
Ontario Racing Commission Death Registry: 2015 postmortem summary
The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) has a long established record and takes pride in its proactive approach to advance the welfare of the racehorse and safety of the participant. In 2003, Ontario became one of the first North American racing jurisdictions to require mandatory reporting of racehorse deaths, in order to monitor, research and improve our knowledge of why these tragic events occur. The ORC Death Registry continues to provide excellent data regarding the causes of morbidity and mortality in racehorses in this province.
Summaries of postmortem submissions to the Animal Health Laboratory under this program and diagnoses by body system for these cases are provided in the following tables.
Table 1. Breed distribution of ORC Death Registry submissions to the AHL, 2003-2015.
|
Breed / Year |
Standardbred |
Thoroughbred |
Quarter Horse |
Total |
|
2003 |
67 (54%) |
58 (46%) |
0 |
125 |
|
2004 |
82 (58%) |
60 (42%) |
0 |
142 |
|
2005 |
59 (54%) |
51 (46%) |
0 |
110 |
|
2006 |
58 (54%) |
47 (44%) |
2 (2%) |
107 |
|
2007 |
66 (54%) |
53 (43%) |
3 (3%) |
122 |
|
2008 |
27 (53%) |
24 (47%) |
0 |
51 |
|
2009 |
28 (62%) |
16 (36%) |
1 (2%) |
45 |
|
2010 |
22 (69%) |
8 (25%) |
2 (6%) |
32 |
|
2011 |
24 (52%) |
18 (39%) |
4 (9%) |
46 |
|
2012 |
20 (59%) |
14 (41%) |
0 |
34 |
|
2013 |
19 (40%) |
27 (56%) |
2 (4%) |
48 |
|
2014 |
21 (41%) |
23 (45%) |
7 (14%) |
51 |
|
2015 |
29 (53%) |
23 (42%) |
3 (5%) |
55 |
Table 2. Postmortem diagnoses of ORC Death Registry submissions by body system, 2003-2015.
|
Diagnosis by body system: |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Fracture / limbs |
53 (42%) |
69 (49%) |
48 (44%) |
42 (39%) |
54 (44%) |
16 (31%) |
4 (9%) |
9 (28%) |
6 (13%) |
2 (6%) |
23 (48%) |
23 (45%) |
22 (40%) |
|
Fracture / other |
10 |
4 |
7 |
13 |
10 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
|
Non-fracture musculoskeletal |
8 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
|
Gastrointestinal |
15 |
19 |
17 |
16 |
18 |
5 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
|
Respiratory (including EIPH) |
21 |
17 |
9 |
11 |
16 |
9 |
21 |
6 |
9 |
7 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
|
Cardiovascular |
5 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
|
CNS |
6 |
11 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
|
Integumentary |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Renal |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Hematopoeitic |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Other conditions (e.g., septicemia, suspected anaphylaxis) |
1 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
|
Cause of death undetermined |
4 (3.2%) |
0 (0%) |
4 (3.6%) |
4 (3.7%) |
2 (1.6%) |
5 (9.8%) |
0 (0%) |
2 (6%) |
4 (9%) |
6 (18%) |
0 (0%) |
2 (4%) |
3 (5%) |
Total |
125 |
142 |
110 |
107 |
122 |
51 |
45 |
32 |
46 |
34 |
48 |
51 |
55 |
Table 3. Musculoskeletal injuries in ORC Death Registry submissions by breed and anatomic site, 2015.
|
Lesion |
TB |
SB |
QH |
Total |
|
P1 fracture - RF |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
P1 fracture - LH |
|
4 |
|
4 |
|
P1 fracture - RH |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
|
Carpal fracture - L |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
Proximal sesamoid fracture –RF |
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
Proximal sesamoid fracture - LF |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
Proximal sesamoid fracture - LH |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
Metacarpal III fracture - R |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
|
Metacarpal III fracture - L |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
Metatarsal III fracture - R |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
Metatarsal III fracture - L |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
Scapula fracture |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Pelvis fracture |
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
Vertebral fracture |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
Skull fracture |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Sacroiliac subluxation |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Flexor tendon laceration – RF |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
DJD, pastern and coffin joints, LF |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
Septic synovitis |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
Acute myopathy (tying up) |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
Total by breed |
15 |
14 |
3 |
32 |
Table 4. Non-musculoskeletal diagnoses in ORC Death Registry submissions, 2015.
|
Gastrointestinal: Gastric impaction (1) Salmonellosis (1) Distal colon obstruction by phytobezoar (1) Typhlocolitis, etiology undetermined (1) Perforated cecum and peritonitis (1) Respiratory: Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) (2) Acute fibrinous pleuropeumonia – S. equi ssp. zooepidemicus (1) Pleuritis - S. equi ssp. zooepidemicus (1) Peracute bacterial pneumonitis / sepsis (1) CNS: Severe acute encephalitis, cause undetermined (1) Equine protozoal myelitis (1) Other / whole body conditions: Injection-associated death, suspect anaphylaxis (3) Systemic hemorrhage, cause undetermined (2) Septicemia (1) Multisystemic trauma (race / stall accident) (2) |