Stricter checks on overseas runners will be introduced after a report into the deaths of several horses at the Melbourne Cup in Australia.
A total of 41 recommendations including CT scans for overseas entries before and after arrival will be adopted.
The 2019 Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck was euthanised after suffering a broken leg in the 2020 Melbourne race.
His soundness was questioned in the weeks beforehand but this was unrelated to his fatal injury, said the report.
The Melbourne Cup, known as ‘the race that stops a nation’ and traditionally attracting a crowd of about 100,000 people, has been criticised over its safety record.
There have been six equine deaths, all international runners, associated with the race since 2013.
The Cliffsofmoher, a stablemate of Anthony Van Dyck for Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, suffered a fatal limb injury in 2018, as did Red Cadeaux three years earlier and Verema in 2013.
Two horses died on the day of the 2014 race – Admire Rakti from rare sudden death syndrome, while Araldo was injured leaving the track when spooked by a flag waved by a spectator.
What changes will be introduced?
The review consulted with dozens of parties including veterinarians, trainers, jockeys, owners, track managers and racing clubs. The main recommendations which will be implemented are:
- All international runners will have to undergo precautionary testing before being allowed to travel and diagnostic imaging for each run.
- All horses must have a CT scan of their distal (lower leg) limbs before the race and an additional veterinary inspection on the day before.
- There will now be a cap of 24 overseas entries at Melbourne’s Spring Carnival, down from the uncapped peak of 42 in 2018.
- International horses will only be allowed to start in one other race in Australia in the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup.
What happened with Anthony Van Dyck?
Top weight Anthony Van Dyck was pulled up early on in the two-mile race on 3 November at Flemington by jockey Hugh Bowman.
A report by Racing Victoria (RV) said the five-year-old had been given the relatively common procedure of a nerve block injection to diagnose proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD) on 9 October, a week before coming second in the Caulfield Cup.
PSD is a condition that can cause lameness although the report notes it is “common in athletic horses and is considered low risk for serious injury”.
RV chair Neil Wilson said the diagnosis was consistent with a post-mortem performed on the horse and “considered unrelated to the fatal fractures”.
He added: “The report found that whilst current veterinary processes were followed, had mandatory precautionary diagnostic imaging been in place, it may have identified the potential for Anthony Van Dyck to incur a more serious racing injury.”
Reaction – A ‘disaster’ for European trainers
British trainer Charlie Fellowes, who has trained Prince Of Arran to finish second and third (twice), criticised the new procedures.
He said they could rule his eight-year-old – who ran twice down under before being placed in the 2018 and 2019 runnings of the Melbourne Cup – out of this year’s race.
“This report and subsequent conditions for getting a horse to run in the Melbourne Cup are a disaster for any European trainer dreaming of winning this great race,” he said.
“I get that changes had to be made but this is too far and basically makes it impossible for us to come down.”
Connections of international contenders would have to fund all the scans and checks before their horses set off for Australia.
