The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s Statement of Strategy 2024-2027 is built on five pillars, one of which is a relentless focus on the safety and well-being of our human and equine participants, ‘Welfare’, and another on providing best-in-class information systems, ‘Digital First’. This presentation sets out the exponential digital improvements the IHRB have made recently to optimise our regulatory veterinary work, highlighting the practicalities, results and plans.
Having in place now a 15-year contract with a commercial digital service provider has enabled a strategic focus and long-term planning. For the first time we have been able to start with a blank canvas and develop systems that properly merge the multiple streams of data needed to operationalise our regulatory veterinary work. Programs integrated to date include Non-Runner. Suitability to Race (STR), Equine Injury in Irish Racing Risk Reduction (EIIRRR), Post-Licensing Stable Inspections, Out of Competition Testing and the Irish Thoroughbred Traceability Project.
Combining these data pools we have introduced efficiencies which have made the job on the ground possible and/or function better, freed up resource which can be better directed and ensured that the resultant data ‘lake’ is secure and fit for purpose. Our approaches and systems will be described and these efficiencies explained.
One example where digitisation has transformed our work is the IHRB’s STR program. In a dispersed training population, digitisation facilitates effective management of the horse’s suitability to race, more interaction with the trainer and home veterinarian and better outcomes.
Future plans include integration of digitised medical records and AI assisted gait analysis technology as well as AI analysis of regulatory data into our existing platform will be outlined.