Deathwatch 2023

Read the Deathwatch 2023 Report at horseracingkills.com/issues/deathwatch/

KEY FINDINGS

FROM WHAT HAS BEEN REPORTED IT IS CONFIRMED THAT AT THE VERY LEAST:
The 2022-2023 ‘racing year’ death toll
The race-day death toll for this racing year is 168 horses.

This is 29 more than last year.

A horse is killed on Australian racetracks every 2 days.

The most common cause of death was from an injury sustained to the horses’ forelimb with 63 instances.

6 horses died in their first ever race.

51 horses died past the winning post.

10 horses were two years old or younger when they died.

Of the horses that were killed, 60 had been raced as two-year olds.

Racing Victoria remains the biggest culprit of not reporting the cause of death of a horse – failing to do so 16 times.

Racing Victoria edits racing replays to hide horse injuries and deaths more than any other state racing authority.

The state with the highest recorded deaths was New South Wales with 53 deaths, followed by Queensland with 40 and Victoria with 39.

The most lethal track in Australia was Thoroughbred Park – Canberra ACT with 6 recorded deaths, followed by Aquis Park – Gold Coast, QLD and Ascot – Perth, WA, each with 5 confirmed deaths.