Air pollution exceedances routinely occur at Thoroughbred racetracks in the contiguous United States.

All US Thoroughbred racetracks experience air quality exceedances, frequently at levels impairing equine health and performance.

This observational study characterized spatiotemporal patterns of criteria air pollutants at all active Thoroughbred racetracks in the contiguous United States from 2011 through 2024. Researchers identified 56 active racetracks and linked their locations with daily air quality data from the EPA Air Quality System, evaluating pollutant concentrations within a 50-km bounding box of each facility. All 56 racetracks experienced at least one exceedance of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with ozone (96% of tracks) and PM2.5 (95% of tracks) being the most commonly exceeded pollutants. Lead showed the highest number of exceedances overall, though these declined over the study period. Regional analysis revealed that annual PM2.5 concentrations exceeded NAAQS thresholds in the Great Lakes and Southwest EPA regions. Notably, post-2020 data showed increasing trends for ozone, PM2.5, and PM10, reversing previous downward trends. A clinically significant finding was that 25.2% of all PM2.5 measurements reached or exceeded 11 µg/m³, a threshold associated with equine performance declines. These results underscore that horses, jockeys, and spectators at racetracks are routinely exposed to air pollutant levels with documented health and performance implications. The authors recommend that racetrack veterinarians and managers incorporate air quality monitoring into their operational protocols and develop response strategies to mitigate exposure risks for both equine athletes and human occupants.

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