Oral Presentation 24th International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians 2026

Equine Injury in Irish Racing Risk Reduction (EIIRRR) Programme operationalisation: Pre-race Veterinary Inspections (130462)

Lynn Hillyer 1 , Lesley Ferguson 1 , Graham Adams 1 , Sarah Rosanowski 2
  1. Veterinary Department, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, The Curragh, Ireland
  2. Independent, Palmerston North, MANAWATU-WANGANUI, New Zealand

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) established the Equine Injury in Irish Racing Risk Reduction (EIIRRR) programme in 2022, to assure equine welfare and integrity in Irish racing. Veterinary Officers have inspected runners pre-race at all Irish fixtures (n~390) for over twenty years, focussing on individual horses with known relevant history and whole cards at specific festival meetings. In November 2023, enhanced raceday veterinary inspections (EVI) were initiated, adding ‘EIIRRR’ horses for inspection based on risk factor modelling:

  • Horses aged over seven for flat racing and 10 for racing over jumps;
  • Maiden starts in horses aged over seven years of age;
  • Any horse that fell on its previous start;
  • Any horse which has run within the last 7 days; and
  • Any horse that has not had a race start in the previous 365 days.

From 2024 whole card inspections, with ‘EIIRRR horses’ a focus, were increased. Inspection frequencies and reason, and pass/fail outcomes were analysed.

Following implementation, 17,162 horses were inspected: 825 in 2023, 11,184 in 2024 and 5,153 (to July 2025), including 107 whole card inspections. The average number of horses inspected on any race day was 33.2 (minimum: 1, maximum: 135).  EVI horses numbered 5,613 (32.7%) with 90 (0.5%) assessed as not suitable to race and requiring veterinary follow up. In 2023, 2024 and 2025 there were 13, 118, and 48 (to date) fatalities respectively, with an overall incidence of 3.1 per 1,000 starts.

The operationalisation of EIIRRR through targeted EVI has increased scrutiny of at-risk horses with more whole card inspections. Participant behaviour has changed, supporting raceday safety. The impact of EVI on injury and fatality rates is being evaluated. Preliminary data indicate a shift towards reduced injury rates reinforcing the value of risk-based veterinary intervention in horseracing and support regulatory approaches to horses unsuitable to race.