Thursday, May 14, 2026	Contact: Jamie Haydon 859.224.2750
Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Topics Announced
The 12th Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, scheduled for June 29 and June 30 in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion and livestreamed, will feature presentations on the progress of the racing industry and how diagnostic equipment and technology is being used to assist in racing safety. Presentations for June 29 will feature Dr. Tim Parkin discussing the latest statistics from the Equine Injury Database; Liza Lazarus, who will discuss HISA technology and data integration; and Dr. Scott Morrison, who will present on the racehorse and the balanced hoof. Other sessions include a discussion on track surfaces with Dr. Mick Peterson and Branden Brookfield and a review of necropsy and mortality from Dr. Laura Kennedy and Dr. Dionne Benson. Dr. Larry Bramlage, David Ingordo, Mark Taylor, and Garrett O’Rourke will discuss equine surgeries in developing horses. The summit will also offer two panels. The first panel will delve into the regulatory vet scratch process, and the second will cover aftercare programs. The session on June 30 will focus on diagnostic equipment, through a discussion led by Dr. Laura Werner and Dr. Becker, and technology being used to assist in racing safety. Technology, including biometric and lameness sensors, will be represented by Stable Analytics, Stride Safe, Sleip, Arioneo, Lameness Locator, and Equimetrics. Jessica Paquette, track announcer at Parx Racing, will emcee. “This year’s agenda promises informative and productive discussions that will highlight the amazing progress our industry has made since the first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit 20 years ago, while enabling us to continue evaluating the areas of our sport that we are working to improve,” said Jamie Haydon, president of Grayson and deputy executive director of The Jockey Club. “We’re pleased to continue coordinating these summits and are grateful to Keeneland for hosting us.” The summit is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, please click here. The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is underwritten and coordinated by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and hosted by Keeneland. Previous editions of the summit can be viewed on Grayson’s YouTube page and have received nearly 20,000 views. Among the major accomplishments that have evolved from the previous summits are the Equine Injury Database; the Jockey Injury Database; the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory; a uniform trainer test and study guide; the racing surfaces white paper and the publication of educational bulletins for track maintenance; the publication of stallion durability statistics; the Hoof: Inside and Out DVD, available in English and Spanish; protocols for horses working off of the veterinarian’s list; pre-race examination module; veterinarian’s list and pre-race examination module integration into the InCompass Track Manager system for free jurisdictional sharing;  recommended regulations that void the claim of horses suffering injuries during a race; and inclement weather protocols. Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is traditionally the nation's leading source of private funding for equine medical research that benefits all breeds of horses. Since 1940, Grayson has provided nearly $45.8 million to underwrite more than 465 projects at 50 universities. Additional information about the foundation is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.

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