Statistics are maintained for the number of horses dying after mishaps during races but are they also maintained for horses that collapse and die immediately post-race or soon afterwards.
If so, is there any quantifiable evidence that the number of such fatalities has increased in recent years?
The gene pool of NH horses has been increasingly impacted by Flat-breds and I speculate whether this has resulted in the population of today’s staying chasers not being as resilient to stamina tests as their more traditionally bred forbears were.
Just a thought.