A veterinarian insider who helped inspect this year’s Melbourne Cup horses says race authorities need to do more to prevent the disruptive spate of horse deaths in the big races, including requiring each Cup horse to be awarded a 1 To examine $ 3 million CT scanners.
The respected equine veterinarian Dr. Maxine Brain, a partner at the Advantage Equine Center in Flemington, also insists that overseas predators undergo a CT scan or other high-tech medical scan before leaving Europe to deal with the “heart-wrenching” spate of Melbourne Cup deaths to prevent .
Dr. In the weeks leading up to this year’s Cup, Brain and her staff worked with Racing Victoria vets at the quarantine facility in Werribee, where Aidan O’Brien’s English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck was the youngest horse to suffer fatal injuries in the Cup.
Anthony Van Dyck was put to sleep after suffering a catastrophic fracture. Racing Victoria requested O’Brien to provide the gallop’s full veterinary and treatment history for the horse undergoing an autopsy.
Anthony Van Dyck during the Melbourne Cup
RV has invested in a $ 1.3 million standing horse CT scanner that will aid in the early detection and prevention of serious horse injuries. However, this year only three of the horses in the Cup competition were sent to the University of Melbourne Veterinary Facility for these scans.
The machine is the only one in Australia and is considered one of only three in the world.
“There must be something going on because the numbers we’re losing in the Melbourne Cup are not in proportion to the rest of the horse racing population – it’s heartbreaking,” said Dr. Brain across from Racenet.
“I think any international horse that comes by needs to do more research before it leaves overseas and after it gets here.
“More work needs to be done and I think tests like CT scans need to be done before leaving Europe and before racing here.
“It would help identify changes and deteriorations in bones that may have occurred during quarantine, air flight and in changing environments so that we can identify causative factors and most importantly, prevent injuries from persisting.
“I would CT scan all Melbourne Cup horses as it would not be fair to just pick the internationals.”
The Melbourne Cup may be the race that is holding up the nation, but it also gives the race a growing black eye as Anthony Van Dyck has added a list of Cup deaths in recent years, which includes Thecliffsofmoher, Red Cadeaux, Admire Rakti and Verema belong.
IS WERRIBEE A DEATH TRAP?
Anthony Van Dyck’s stablemate Wichita recently suffered a broken right hind leg while galloping and was later euthanized, while another import, Involved, was also euthanized after a training injury.
It’s a confrontational death rate and no one seems to have the answer, although many have pointed out the Werribee stretch, which has been the quarantine location for Overseas Cup raiders since 2010.
Anthony Van Dyck during the track work in Werribee. Image: Race photos via Getty Images
Dr. Brain doesn’t believe Werribee is to blame, but insists that the Cup’s death is a worrying mystery that urgently needs to be solved.
“I don’t think we know the full reason and if we don’t start more testing we won’t know what the problem is,” said Dr. Brain.
“Nobody has been able to pinpoint the exact reason why there are more horses coming from overseas to take part in the cups.
“I don’t think it’s the Werribee track but I think everyone is concerned because nobody wants to see this.
“I don’t think we have the answers and we need the answers.
WE HAVE TO SCAN MORE
“X-rays are fine, but you really need CT scans because X-rays don’t give you a good idea of the quality of the bones.
“So with X-rays you can’t see if there’s inflammation in the bone, and you can’t see if there are fine cracks in the bone – these are things you can see on CT scans.”
Racing Victoria has vowed to leave no stone unturned in its latest investigation into the worrying trend in Melbourne Cup deaths.
Among other things, they check whether more thorough medical examinations, such as those provided by Dr. Brain has requested that the run-up to the cup should be done.
“We are trying to find out how we can better identify and risk horses that could pose a problem for us. We will continue to review and consider all aspects,” said Jamie Stier, head of integrity at RV.
“We will look at Anthony Van Dyck’s death in isolation, but we will also link that to whether there are common themes or trends that could inform us better.
“If we look further, maybe we can paint a better and more complete picture and act accordingly if we can.”
Anthony Van Dyck enjoys a sand roll after galloping in Werribee over the weekend.
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