Jamie Stier of the BHA (Pic:Edward Whitaker)
British racecards will carry a symbol ‘WS’ to denote a horse is having its first run since undergoing wind surgery with effect from January 2018.
The www.throughbreddailynews.com reports that this enhanced data has been implemented by the British Horseracing Authority to increase transparency for the betting public and to help generate data for equine health and welfare research. The addition of ‘WS’ to racecards will only appear for a horse’s first race start following wind surgery and not for subsequent race starts. The types of wind surgery required to be declared by trainers are Tie Back, Hobday, Epiglottic surgery, Tie forward and soft palate cautery.
Commenting on the new data Jamie Stier, Chief Regulatory Officer for the BHA, said, “The sport’s betting customers, and potential customers, are at the heart of this development. It is simply essential that the sport is seen to be open, fair and transparent. In a modern world, information which may have an impact on a horse’s performance should be available to all, not only those who are close to the horse in question.”
