An investigation of training, racing, and injuries of racing greyhounds in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract

Concerns about animal welfare practices, particularly the roles of animals involved in sports and entertainment, have directed public attention to the racing industry. The use of animals in racing appears to be losing societal support with solicitude about the anecdotally short career lengths, frequent racing, and high injury rates of animals in the racing industry. Nowhere is this more evident than in greyhound racing where there is a paucity of research investigating population level data on the career and racing patterns of these dogs. This thesis investigates the career duration and frequency of racing of greyhounds and assesses potential risk factors for racing injuries which may impact the longevity and welfare of racing greyhounds in New Zealand. Descriptive analysis was used to quantify career milestones and racing frequency of racing greyhounds in New Zealand. Performance outcomes, including number of career starts, career length and the age at which greyhounds finished racing, were used to provide an insight into causes of attrition in the greyhound racing industry. Most greyhounds raced on a weekly cycle, primarily driven by the industry through opportunities to race. Greyhounds had an average of 35 career starts over a 424 day period and finished racing at a median age of 39 months. The training practices of racing greyhounds in New Zealand were explored using a cross-sectional survey. There were no significant differences between the training practices of trainers holding a public training licence compared with those holding an owner trainer licence. The type and amount of exercise during training demonstrated specificity and homogeneity. Trainers exhibited a training micro-cycle, which was structured around the opportunities to race. Regardless of the number of times dogs raced in a week, most greyhounds had two high-intensity exercise sessions. The type and incidence of injuries sustained during racing were identified using a retrospective cohort study. The incidence of musculoskeletal injury was 19.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 18.6-19.8) per 1,000 racing starts, and the incidence of fatalities at the track was 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.4) per 1,000 racing starts. Most injuries sustained during racing were soft-tissue injuries and most injuries affected the limbs of the greyhounds. Most of the fatal injuries that occurred at the racetrack were fractures. This study identified the need for improved conciseness around the collection and classification of injury data at the racetrack. Logistic regression models were used to explore risk factors for the three most common types of injuries occurring in racing greyhounds on race day. Specifically, the three primary injuries were soft-tissue injuries, lacerations, and fractures. Greyhounds that raced less frequently (racing more than seven days apart) had greater odds of fracture compared to those racing more frequently. Greyhounds racing every seven days had lower odds of soft-tissue injury compared with those racing more than once a week. Dog factors such as age, country of origin and race grade were associated with increased odds of fracture. Dog and track factors, including age, race grade and racetrack were associated with increased odds of soft-tissue injury. There was a higher incidence of soft-tissue injuries than other injury types, although the consequence of such injuries were less than those for fractures. The results of this thesis provide baseline metrics for the racing patterns, training programmes, and injury rates for racing greyhounds in New Zealand. The racing and training patterns, although mostly designed to physiologically condition the dogs for racing, contributed to the injuries sustained during racing. Improved accuracy of the data reported from race day is required to monitor the occurrence of injuries over time and allow the greyhound racing industry to address interventions that may progress towards safer racing conditions.