At Ayr Racecourse, nothing matters more to us than caring for
Horses and Jockeys. We believe that horses have the right to a
decent, fulfilling life and we take every possible step to minimise
the risk of Horses/Jockeys receiving an injury whilst here with us.
However, regrettably there are occasions when something goes wrong
and the horse and jockey part company.
Like all racecourses in Great Britain, Ayr Racecourse is
licensed and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority
(BHA). The BHA sets and polices the standards for Equine
facilities and Veterinary care at all Racecourses in Britain.
The BHA also provides their own Veterinary Officer at each
meeting to ensure strict standards for racecourses - over-seeing
the number of Veterinary Surgeons on duty, the stabling and
Veterinary facilities are being met.
At Ayr Racecourse, we employ first class Veterinary Surgeons and
deploy them around the track, parade ring and stable yard to ensure
that should any horse need Veterinary assistance, a Vet will be on
the scene within seconds of an incident.
Their first priority is to make a diagnosis of any injury that
has been sustained. To provide a calm environment to treat the
horse, members of the Groundstaff team will erect Green screens
around any horse that needs attention. The same applies to injured
riders, when screens are used to ensure that their treatment can be
done in privacy. As soon as the assessment of the injury has been
made, a horse ambulance will be called to the scene and will
transport the horse back to the stable yard or to the local Equine
Hospital, where further treatment can be undertaken.
We are committed to minimising the risks and to dealing quickly
with any incident that does occur.
To learn more about Horseracing's work to protect the horse,
please visit the BHA's
website.
Horse racing in Britain also has its own charity.
Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) is British
Horseracing's official charity for the welfare of horses who have
retired from racing. The Roles of Retraining of Racehorses (ROR)
are:
- To raise funds from within the Racing Industry to help support
the charitable retraining and rehoming of former racehorses
- To help provide facilities for the care, retraining and
rehoming of former racehorses
- To promote the adaptability of racehorses to other equestrian
activities
- To run a well established programme of competition sponsorship,
and clinics to educate and improve riders handling former
racehorses
Their overall goal is to achieve a balance between the number of
horses leaving Racing and the number of enthusiastic, and suitable,
new homes.
Find out more information on the ROR's
website.