NYRA TO LIMIT HEIGHT OF TOE GRABS ON FRONT HORSESHOES AT START OF AQUEDUCT FALL MEETING, OCTOBER 29

Following the recommendation of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee of The Jockey Club, toe grabs with a height greater than two millimeters (.07874 inches) on front horseshoes will be banned from all horses racing at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, and Aqueduct Racetrack. The limitation takes effect on October 29 with the opening of the Aqueduct Fall Meeting, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced today.

The committee announced its recommendation to ban all toe grabs other than two-millimeter wear plates on June 17.

Earlier this month, the American Graded Stakes Committee, administered by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, announced that graded stakes run at racetracks which have not implemented the Jockey Club limitations on toe-grab horseshoes would lose their graded status on January 1, 2009 (or the date of the track’s first graded stakes).

Both organizations cited research noting a greater risk of catastrophic injury to horses wearing front toe grabs than horses wearing shoes without toe grabs. The NYRA ruling also eliminates bends, jar caulks, stickers, or any other traction device on front hooves.