LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's about the size of a small cell phone, and it can fit comfortably in one's hand. 

What You Need To Know

  • Since last spring, all starter horses at Churchill Downs and all tracks across Kentucky have worn the StrideSAFE sensor

  • It’s a system designed to help protect horses who are racing

  • The device itself weighs three ounces, and it can fit in one's hand

  • It contains an accelerometer system that tells how the horse is moving side-to-side, forwards-and-backwards and up-and-down 800 times a second

Since last spring, all starter horses at Churchill Downs and all tracks across Kentucky have worn the StrideSAFE sensor.

Working with horses has been a labor of love for David Lambert since the 1970s. 

“It’s the spirit of being around the horses,” Lambert said. “There’s a presence about horses, which is really quite unique.”

Lambert is the CEO of StrideSAFE, a system designed to help protect horses. The device itself weighs three ounces. 

“They contain an accelerometer system, which is telling us how the horse is moving side-to-side, forwards-and-backwards and up-and-down 800 times a second for each of those planes,” Lambert said. “It’s also got in here GPS modality, so we can tell plus-or-minus about 2 inches where the horse is at any moment during the race.”

The device goes into a pocket, then gets put under the saddle during a race. Neither the horse nor the rider can feel it. The information is then uploaded online for analysis and reports.

“The information from the race is downloaded, and we study all the strides and all the data of all the horses in the race,” Lambert said. “This is information, presently, which we’re developing for the benefit of the trainer so that he can be better informed about the welfare of his animal and he can then (make) the necessary decision to get the horse diagnosed or treated.”

Lambert said a case may appear to look fine, but sensors can detect problems, such as the results of one horse’s PET scan last year. Bright yellow spots are areas in the horse’s fetlock that are inflamed and could lead to a catastrophic or fatal injury. Instead, the horse got to rest and got saved.

“By using the sensors with a forward-thinking trainer, who is right on top of the welfare of his horses and with the support of Churchill putting all this money into a PET scanner ... all of this came together, in this case history, and this horse’s life was saved,” Lambert said. “That’s the beginning of how this is going to work.” 

Last year, at Churchill Downs, 12 horses died. The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) investigation found no singular cause. 

“As a steward for the horse, as a veterinarian, our goal is to try to help prevent those from happening again,” said William Farmer, Churchill Downs Inc.’s equine medical director. 

Farmer said he wants the technology to be a helpful tool for attending veterinarians and trainers who take care of horses daily. 

“We’re getting ready to open here in just a couple weeks,” Farmer said. “(Our plan is to have) every horse that races (to wear) the StrideSAFE sensor again. That’s our plan.” 

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