This weekend’s world championships of Thoroughbred racing in Lexington will include new technology to enhance safety and integrity. A briefing Wednesday at Keeneland focused on measures pertaining to anti-doping testing to track safety. Keeneland has a two-camera system in place. Dora Delgado is the Breeders’ Cup Chief Racing Officer. She said the cameras are everywhere and can get multiple different angles.
“The camera quality and the capture of being able to isolate a particular horse on the racetrack when there could be 200 out there is just remarkable. This would be a gold standard that tracks should follow,” said Delgado.
Stuart Brown is vice president of equine safety at Keeneland. He said the installation of cameras in all the Keeneland barns was completed in August, ahead of the fall meet.
“We have two sets of systems here. We have one that’s really focused on our racetracks and all of our training services. And then we also have a system that is within our barn area that specifically speaks to the safety and integrity of the horse population that lives here at Keeneland,” said Brown.
Brown said they cover all the corners and center aisleways of the barns and panoramic cameras that cover the shed-rows
In addition to technological measures, Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said the historic track supports health and welfare research, funding Thoroughbred aftercare, and promoting transparency and study. Keeneland is hosting the Breeders’ Cup for the third time since 2015.
