Interesting Stat

[rdytdy 5,343]

I noticed when reading the Stewards Report from Te Rapa's meeting that two horses bled, Swinging Skirts and  Vendella and seemed to recall reading similar occurrences at recent meetings there so I checked. At the last four meetings at Te Rapa six horses have bled. Three on one day in December on Cup Day, She Brings Joy, Real Fun and Let Her Rip and in January Beauty's Rose.

I checked Ellerslie who have had nine meetings during December and January and not one horse bled and Trentham have also had four meetings in the same period with none having bled.

So I looked further and checked every meeting since December 1st, a total of 71 meetings including Te Rapa's four. Only two other horses bled in that period, Peewee at Woodville on 25 Jan & Sureasyouwereborn at Otago on 3/2.

Therefore 8 horses have bled in NZ in total since Dec 1st with six of them at Te Rapa which I found interesting.          

[Guest 2Admin2]

I'd be interested to know where the horses were stabled at Te Rapa.  In the yards or boxes?  I have a theory that bleeding is promoted by dust, fungal spores and bacteria.  The last time I raced a horse at Te Rapa I noted that the yards and boxes were dusty and dirty - particularly the boxes which looked like they hadn't been completely cleaned out since the last time the had sales there.  Admittedly that was some time ago and I would assume that have been cleaned recently.

[gubellini 4,004]

There is a theory that the hotter the day the more likely it is for a horse to bleed. Not sure if there is a correlation but this could have been a factor at Te Rapa.

[Guest 2Admin2]

22 minutes ago, poundforpound said:

Scientific data says 80%+ bleed in the lungs after a hard race, but not at the nostril because they swallow the blood as it comes up the trachea.

Stewards only look at the nostril, however if they did the “ soft cough “ test you’d see hundreds of horses stood down as bleeders.

Admin might have a point but you’d need exposure to pathogens over a long period for that to be a cause / issue.

It’s probably more likely that the sandy nature of the track is causing the horses to work harder which increases exertion, and obviously bilateral bleeding from the nostrils is directly related to extreme exertion.

 

 

Coincidentally the horse I was referring did have "the cough" after it raced at Te Rapa.  Mind you they broke 1:21.  As P4P points out most horses bleed while racing hence the ongoing debate about the use of Lasix.

4 of the 6 horses that bled at Te Rapa are from Cambridge.  

[Insider 3,961]

9 hours ago, poundforpound said:

Scientific data says 80%+ bleed in the lungs after a hard race, but not at the nostril because they swallow the blood as it comes up the trachea.

Stewards only look at the nostril, however if they did the “ soft cough “ test you’d see hundreds of horses stood down as bleeders.

Admin might have a point but you’d need exposure to pathogens over a long period for that to be a cause / issue.

It’s probably more likely that the sandy nature of the track is causing the horses to work harder which increases exertion, and obviously bilateral bleeding from the nostrils is directly related to extreme exertion.

 

 

I completely agree with your last sentence.