Do Race Horses Have to be Killed for a Fractured Leg?

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May 03, 2024, 15:07 ET

The Beta Group, a Silicon Valley technology company, releases statement

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Saturday will be the running of the 150th consecutive Kentucky Derby.

One year ago, 12 horses died just before and after, sparking outrage in the press: https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=Kentucky+derby+horse+deaths

Why is it that human athletes can be healed for a fractured leg, but equine athletes are often times "euthanized"?

Obviously, no veterinarian wants to kill a horse for a fractured leg! But these outcomes are fueling the fire for Animal Rights groups to end horse racing.

Horses, however, have a unique anatomy and that makes it very challenging if not impossible to rehabilitate horses with fractured legs.

A solution might be on its way

A Silicon Valley technology company The Beta Group, known for its advanced biomaterials expertise, is passionate about improving outcomes for equine athletes and thinks it has developed a combination of shape memory and superelastic (nitinol) technologies which they hope can "do the impossible" in the world of thoroughbred horse racing: allow broken down horses to recover and live out their lives

Bob Zider, Founder of Beta, calls their effort a "Moonshot":

Beta has a 40 year history in all forms of nitinol, including inventing Flexon® eyewear. They also have medical nitinol leader in cardiovascular stents Nitinol Devices and Components (now Confluent Medical) as well as orthopedic structural bone graft (PorOsteon).

Beta's new technology does not use traditional plates or screws. Instead it combines variations of nitinol's ability to provide a customized compressive force with structural bone graft to promote fast and complete bone fusion and tissue growth.

They have precedent using their Phusion Metal® structural bone graft in horses successfully to treat Wobblers disease, a neurological disorder resulting from compression of the spinal cord. Additionally, they have developed human artificial ribs using a similar combination technology. However, equine fractures present a completely new level of difficulty.

"Venture capitalists won't touch this as too difficult and too small a market," says Zider. "Tell that to horse lovers. Not all things are done for dollars."

www.betagroupllc.com
www.porosteon.com

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SOURCE THE BETA GROUP