99.875%

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) will present to a Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection a report on thoroughbreds, standardbreds and quarterhorses that have died at racing facilities. According to Ed Martin, president of RCI, the numbers in the report show that 99.875% of all starters in a race, finish the race safely.

You can read more here as reported by the Joe Drape in the NY Times. What the committee does with this information going forward will be interesting. Will they digest all the numbers or skew the #'s to fit their own view of the racing industry. What will anti racing groups like PETA have to say? Historically it looks to me like racing fatalities have remained about the same. Of course, soundness of the horse, use of medications, quality of racing, durability of the horses are all deeper issues that the #'s won't easily show. Will the Congress subcommitte hearing, which begins Thursday, be anything more than a dog and pony show? I guess your answer lies in what you think of big government's ability to fix racing problems. I for one, remain dubious that government can figure out a better way to run things than the private entities already involved in the sport.