The northeast portion of the country is in the midst of a heatwave with a recent spate of hot and humid days.
Temperatures the past few days have been in the high 80s to low 90s- add in the high humidity, and you get the feels like readings of over 100 degrees.
Saratoga Race Course is set to open Friday July 3rd. The forecast for Friday in Saratoga is 95 degrees with little chance of rain.
So, during the summer-long meet, racing fans are, naturally, concerned about the safety of the horses when the temperatures start rising above 90 degrees.
That said, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) said it closely follows New York State’s heat management protocols for the safety of the horses.
NYRA and the New York State Gaming Commission work closely with horsemen to ensure the protocols are followed.
The heat management protocols include the racetrack veterinarian keeping an eye on the National Weather Service heat index.
The heat index measures how hot it really feels when humidity is factored in.
If the heat index reaches 105, the veterinarian should notify track officials about the dangerous heat conditions.
According to the protocols, officials should cancel racing for the day if conditions are too dangerous for the horses.
The last time an entire card was cancelled at Saratoga was in July of 2019.
The heat management protocols include several precautions to lessen heat stress if horses are allowed to race.
These conventions include:
>Horses being hosed and covered with light sheets soaked in ice water on their way to the paddock.
>Horses being observed continually as they approach the paddock, while they are in the paddock, during the warm-up period, while racing, and as they leave the race.
>Buckets of ice and cold-water hoses being made available all around the racing oval, in the paddock, and at the Winner’s Circle for emergency use.
>Water gathering on the body surface of a horse should be scraped off.
>After the race, a horse should be cooled off with hosing and ice water.
>Officials should place horses in the shade or in front of fans.
>The horse’s body temperature should be monitored until it returns to a normal level.
>Horses with persistently elevated body temperatures should receive veterinary care.
Cooling stations are located throughout the Saratoga facility, and veterinarians observe all horses before and after the race.
All horses who are entered to race are inspected by NYRA veterinarians.
Of course, the monitoring of the horses starts at the beginning of each day, regardless of the weather.
NYRA uses a state-of-the-art on-site weather station as well as professional meteorologists to access real-time weather data throughout the day.
These protocols are in place for the safety of the equine athletes but it’s important for everyone to exercise caution in extreme heat- hydrate!
Stay frosty my friends.
