Falls in Swedish hurdle and steeplechase racing and the condition of the track surface

Falls in National Hunt races is a tragic part of the sport. The present study focuses on the relation between racing track conditions and the number of falls in Swedish jump racing. The assumption was that more horses fell on heavy or soft going than on good or firm going. Results from all jump races at Täby Racecourse (1992-2001) were recorded. Parameters registered were: type and number of races, racing surface and condition, total time to finish the race, number of starting horses and number of falls. In this period 212 races, corresponding to 1,556 horse starts, were registered. Falls were registered in 42 races and in total 61 horses fell. The fall frequency on horse level was significantly higher in steeplechases than in hurdle races (odds ratio =3.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.99-6.85). For the steeplechases recorded in this study, significantly more falls were seen in long distance races (>4,000 m) on soft to heavy going (odds ratio = 5.20; 95% CI = 1.48-18.26), whereas no significant trends were observed due to total time to finish the race, number of starting horses, temperature, and calendar year. For the hurdle chases recorded, no significant associations between fall-frequency and the recorded explanatory variables were found. The fact that significantly more horses fell in long-distance steeplechases on soft to heavy going, makes surface condition important to consider in order to improve race safety. Among the 195 horse starts in long-distance steeplechases in this study 7 (2-11) falls could have been prevented by cancelling races on soft to heavy surfaces.