High profile racehorse deaths and unusual attention to the number of equine fatalities in the horse racing industry over the past few years has a congressional subcommittee convening a meeting on safety standards for thoroughbred horses, according to Sporting News. The subcommittee plans to investigate why horses are breaking down and why. The committee also asked one of the larger racecourse owners, Magna Entertainment, whether the company would support creating a database to compile track-related thoroughbred injuries.

The Sunday Denver Post, meanwhile, profiled Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, one of the foremost equine veterinary orthopedists in the world. McIlwraith is a faculty member of Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science. McIlwraith told the Post he is working on two projects that should make racing safe for horses: One is a testing procedure to detect bone problems in horses and the other is research on racetrack surfaces. Both projects have broader implications beyond the world of horseracing. He told the newspaper he hopes to have a widespread blood test on the market in two years. Such a test would have detected, for example, Eight Belles' problem before she ran.