82 Horses Saved from Racing in WA Heatwave

Thanks to an overwhelming response from CPR supporters, 82 horses were saved from being forced to race in the scorching heatwave on Thursday 1 Feb in Belmont WA.

On Wednesday 31 Jan horse races were scheduled to go ahead in Ascot WA despite soaring temperatures of up to 42C. CPR reached out through social media for people to help contact Racing WA and ask them to stop the races. That didn’t prevent the races from happening on the day but resulted in the eight races involving 82 horses on the following day in Belmont WA to be cancelled due to the extreme heat forecasted.

With temperatures soaring between 39 and 42C predicted at the time of the Wednesday Ascot races later in the day, early morning CPR started calling Racing WA including their Head of Integrity and Chief Steward directly to ask they please reconsider going ahead with the races of concern for the wellbeing of the horses involved.

We at CPR left voice messages with everyone but got no response. Then we decided to reach out through our social media to supporters asking them to assist in calling and emailing Racing WA. With the following storm of calls, emails, and messages everyone persisted with, Racing WA had no choice but to finally start returning our calls.

“I Wouldn’t be Racing in 38 Degrees Either”

When CPR at last got a return call from a Racing WA officer, it was only one hour before the races were scheduled to start. When we politely voiced our concern, the officer replied that she completely understood and agreed she wouldn’t want to run for 1-2 kilometres whilst being whipped in 38 degrees either.

However, 38,5C was nonetheless the cut-off temperature in the extreme weather policy Racing WA was to follow, she explained, and claimed that the weather bureau BOM had assured them the temperature would drop below in time for races to start.

Other CPR supporters had call backs from various Racing WA staff who blamed the punters for insisting that the races would go ahead, explaining how upset the punters got every time a race had to be cancelled for whatever reason, as they would lose a lot of money.

“No doubt racing punters are pressuring for the races to go ahead. But passing the blame on to the punters, only goes to prove that animals should never be involved in any business driven by money and profit,” said CPR General Manager Helle Erhardsen.

A racehorse experiencing heat stress. Photo courtesy: MSD Veterinary Manual 

Cancellation of Thursday Races Followed Volume of Calls

From the CPR supporters who were at the races in Ascot on Wednesday 31st Jan, we understand that  stewards and other staff were loudly complaining about the volume of calls and emails they had been bombarded with during the day from concerned CPR supporters.

Only half an hour after the first race of the day had commenced at 3:34pm, Racing WA announced via their social V-account, that the races scheduled for the following day in Belmont WA would be cancelled due to the extreme weather that was forecasted.

“We are grateful for the dedication shown by our supporters in alerting Racing WA about the danger they were putting the horses in by allowing them to race in that scorching heat. We need much more strict policies in place across all of Australia to prevent racehorses from suffering utterly unnecessary heat stress,” Helle Erhardsen said.

Exercise-Induced Heat Stress can be Fatal to Horses

According to the Australian Veterinary Association, the horse’s brain is particularly sensitive to heat stress, and clinical signs include abnormal mentation with irritability, head shaking and random kicking, progressing to disorientation, unpredictable lunging forward, ataxia and collapse.

The publication The Horse has interviewed scientist Leah Trigg, who is co-author of a 2023 report on exertional heat illness (EHI) in Thoroughbred racehorses. She said that racehorses produce an estimated 1,250 kilojoules of heat energy – enough to boil a gallon of water – every minute while racing.

“When the horses can’t get rid of that heat – by, for example, transferring it to cold water as it’s splashed onto their bodies—their internal temperatures continue to rise to the point of EHI. If internal body temperatures reach 104 F (40 C), scientists believe the animals might experience protein damage and cell death, in addition to a cascade of physiological harm,” Trigg told The Horse.

“Horses experiencing EHI can have increased respiratory and heart rates and are at risk of serious central nervous system dysfunction and even death,” Trigg said.

Update on the Races that did Go Ahead in Ascot this Wednesday

Already from the first race, one horse was reported with heat stress. From there on, very little was reported. We can only speculate, if vets had been advised to be vague in their reporting, which we sadly know has happened before.

This does not mean that the horses had an easy run in the heat. Our CPR supporters present at the races, noticed that several horses coming back to the stable area after being raced, were very wobbly on their feet.

Normally, horses only get hosed down post-race but on Wednesday, many horses had several buckets of ice water thrown on them as well – something that is usually only used if the horse is experiencing heat stress and needs urgent cooling down to avoid collapse.

“Once again, thank you to everyone who helped prevent this scene from being repeated yesterday. Racing WA and the rest of Racing Australia should never allow any horse to be put through this, ever,” Helle Erhardsen said.

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