New federal data shows racing fatalities dropped 55% since 2009, while critics argue the true death toll remains hidden from public view
The horse racing industry recorded its lowest fatality rate in 16 years of tracking, according to data released in March 2025. But behind the improved statistics lies a stark reality that welfare advocates say the industry doesn't want to discuss: hundreds of horses continue to die at American tracks each year, and an unknown number more perish at private training facilities where no one is required to keep count.
According to the Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database, the fatal injury rate in thoroughbred flat racing dropped to 1.11 per 1,000 starts in 2024, a 44.5% decrease since tracking began in 2009. At tracks regulated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), the rate fell even lower to 0.90 per 1,000 starts, representing a 55% decline from fifteen years ago.
The industry calls it progress. Animal welfare groups call it incomplete accounting.
What the official numbers don't capture
Horseracing Wrongs, a nonprofit that documents equine deaths through Freedom of Information requests, tracked 850 horse deaths at U.S. tracks in 2024. But the organization's founder, Patrick Battuello, says that figure represents only what states are willing to disclose. Florida and Arkansas no longer provide death data to the public, citing HISA's federal oversight, though HISA itself is not subject to open records laws.
The group estimates that approximately 1,800 racehorses die annually in the United States when accounting for horses euthanized off-site, those that die at more than 200 private training facilities, and deaths in states that limit public disclosure.
HISA's 2024 Annual Metrics Report marked the first time training-related deaths were compiled nationally. The authority reported 181 training-related fatalities at covered facilities, with a rate of 0.50 deaths per 1,000 timed workouts.
A fractured industry with uneven protections
The data reveals a troubling disparity between federally regulated tracks and those operating under state-level oversight. Racetracks not subject to HISA's jurisdiction recorded fatality rates of 1.76 per 1,000 starts, nearly double the rate at HISA-regulated venues.
Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia, and Nebraska are among states with significant thoroughbred racing operations outside federal jurisdiction. Texas has gone so far as to prohibit interstate simulcasting of its races to avoid HISA's reach. Legal challenges to HISA's authority are now headed to the Supreme Court.
Chelsea Perez, senior program manager for equine protection at Humane World for Animals, told ESPN that HISA has demonstrated federal regulation can be effective. The organization is calling for uniform safety standards at every track.
Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund, was more direct in her assessment of the industry's approach to deaths. She stated that accepting horse fatalities as an inevitable part of racing is both morally indefensible and commercially unsustainable for the sport's future.
The deaths the public doesn't see
Even as on-track fatalities decline, the racing industry faces scrutiny over what happens to horses after their racing careers end.
An estimated 20,000 American horses are slaughtered annually for human consumption in foreign countries. While this number has dropped significantly from 166,000 in 2012, an unknown portion are former racehorses. John Stewart, owner of Resolute Racing, made headlines when he rescued two horses from a Louisiana kill pen in 2024. He told the Thoroughbred Daily News that when he raised the issue with industry insiders, many believed safeguards prevented horses from reaching slaughter.
Industry-funded aftercare programs like the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance have rehomed over 18,500 retired racehorses. But critics say these efforts don't match the scale of the problem, with thousands of horses entering the system annually while rescue organizations struggle to keep pace.
Recent high-profile deaths keep pressure on the sport
Despite improved statistics, public incidents continue to draw attention. At the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championship, the horse Jayarebe collapsed and died from a cardiac event during a nationally televised race. In 2023, Churchill Downs saw 12 horse deaths over five weeks, including two on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
The 2025 Saratoga summer meet recorded 10 horses euthanized due to racing or training-related injuries, up from just two the previous year. HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus attributed the fluctuation to natural variance, telling the Times Union that she remained confident year-end totals would align with 2024's record lows.
What's next
HISA recently announced the launch of the HISA Equine Recovery Foundation, a nonprofit set to begin operations in early 2026 that will fund veterinary care and rehabilitation for horses with career-ending injuries. The pilot program aims to reduce unnecessary euthanasia by providing owners resources to pursue surgical interventions.
The racing industry points to declining fatality rates as evidence that reform is working. Welfare advocates counter that any death toll built into a sport constitutes a fundamental problem no amount of incremental improvement can solve.
As Battuello of Horseracing Wrongs told ESPN: while conditions may be improving marginally, death remains an inherent feature of the racing system, not a bug to be engineered away.
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