Lexington, KY—A sense of optimism filled the Keeneland sales pavilion Tuesday, June 30 as the 2026 Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit's second and final session provided attendees with an in-depth overview of advancements, from the racetrack to the vet clinic, in safety technologies and diagnostic equipment.Though the use of biometric sensors on racehorses to monitor movement patterns with the goal of detecting early signs of unsoundness or injury risk is not a new concept, the elevation and variety of the technology available is an ever-evolving field.This April, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) released findings from a first of-its-kind prospective study, the AAEP Wearable Biometric Sensor Research Project, which evaluated the effectiveness of sensor technology in detecting impending musculoskeletal injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses. Arioneo, Stable Analytics, and StrideSAFE were among the four companies that successfully submitted sufficient data reports for analysis in the study, and representatives from each were on-hand to speak to Summit attendees.ArioneoCreated in 2014, Arioneo is a French equine technology company that provides a wide variety of advanced, scientifically validated tools for monitoring racehorse performance and training. Along with the Equimetre Training System, Arioneo's flagship product which utilizes a unique sensor to track speed, locomotion, and cardio, the company offers EQUISYM, a tool for quantifying locomotion; and the Vision app, a video analysis app that uses artificial intelligence to detect lameness.“Our program can detect atrial fibrillation with 99 percent accuracy, which is very unique,” said Valentin Rapin, managing director and co-founder of Arioneo. “For every trainer that uses our product, the electrocardiogram [ECG] is screened by our artificial intelligence [system] and if we identify an abnormality, we will send them an alert to let them know.”The Arioneo Racing System, launching in September, will utilize a new ultra-thin race-day girth that integrates ECG electrodes and locomotion sensors. Sitting under the saddle cloth, the technology will measure cardiac and stride patterns in real time.“It is being tested in the UK and France in real racing conditions at the moment,” said Rapin.Stable AnalyticsBen Bernhard, vice president of his family's Pin Oak Stud near Versailles, Ky., spoke about the development of Stable Analytics, a company he created to bring modern engineering and data science into the traditional world of horse racing. A former engineer for SpaceX, Bernhard has utilized his experience and worked with his team to develop Equigraph, a biometric sensor system that captures high-resolution motion and physiological data to allow for early identification of biomechanical irregularities in racehorses.“Eventually, that horse that I spoke about that won that Grade I, [Geaux Rocket Ride], broke down while training up to the [2023] Breeders' Cup. Since then, I've decided to focus most of my attention to figure out how I can use my expertise in engineering to try to prevent things like that happening in the future,” said Bernhard.The Equigraph sensor, which will be offered commercially by the end of the year, goes on the girth of the horse during training with the goal of identifying if the movement of the horse is changing. Collecting and compiling data on stride parameters, symmetry, impact loading, and other biomechanical indicators, the program offers an individualized metric through the Gait Risk Index to indicate the risk level of a horse suffering a musculoskeletal injury.StrideSAFEDr. David Lambert, the CEO of StrideSAFE, provided a candid opening statement ahead of his presentation Tuesday.“What I would like to do is leave you all with a feeling of great optimism and the anticipation of pride in this industry,” said Lambert. “The good news is that all of these [advancements] lead to a better and brighter day, where you can use modern technology to care for your athletes in the very best way possible.”Having long been a frontrunner in biometric sensor technology utilized in the sport of horse racing, the StrideSAFE sensor is placed in a pocket on the underside of the saddle cloth and contains sensors that measure acceleration and the stride pattern at various gaits. With the ability to flag any changes or irregularities, the data produced by this technology can indicate which horses may be at risk of a fatal or career-ending injury.“We have the data to find the horses, we have the expertise to diagnose the horses, we're just not doing it. The data is right there for us to follow and if we can just persuade the industry at large to embrace this and move forward, then these [fatal] fractures are going to become a thing of the past,” said Lambert. “That is not an outlandish statement.”Lambert also spoke about the benefit of the data collected by the StrideSAFE algorithms which provides connections with information to identify attrition—when a horse is approaching the need for time off—along with indicators of Exercise Associated Sudden Death (EASD), and establishes a baseline of performance characteristics for each horse.Equinosis Q with Lameness LocatorDr. Kevin Keegan, founder and chief science officer of Equinosis Q with Lameness Locator, explained the company's use of microelectric sensors, placed on the head, hip, and right forelimb of a horse, to track movement and detect lameness. This technology quantifies motion asymmetries directly associated with decreased weight bearing.“You can't just look once. You have to look many times and we have to make it easy to look many times,” said Keegan in reference to the importance of having as many measurements as possible when assessing lameness, which body-mounted inertial sensor (BMIS) systems like Equinosis Q with Lameness Locator provide.SleipUnlike other safety technologies that employ sensors to collect data when detecting signs of lameness or early indicators of injury, Sleip is 'a markerless gait analysis system that is app-based,' explained Dr. Jamie Textor. With the use of AI, the system enables frame-by-frame measurements by video.“Sleip is unique in that it is anatomically scaled to the individual horse you're looking at, making results comparable in terms of severity between animals of different sizes,” said Textor.Used by racing jurisdictions such as the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the Kentucky Horseracing & Gaming Corporation (KHRGC), Sleip is an asymmetry detector that measures gait type at the trot and analyzes individual strides, stride variation, and more to provide objective data in terms of soundness. Recordings can be made of a horse being jogged in hand or with a rider in the saddle.“The goal here is transparency and we think Sleip provides that in a very user-friendly, approachable way, along with collaboration, and that leads to teamwork. With those things together, we can improve racehorse safety,” said Textor.Presentations on the ever-growing and advancing variety of safety technologies available to the racing industry complemented an in-depth presentation, led by Dr. Evan Becker and Dr. Laura Werner of the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, on the advances in diagnostic technology that are transforming how injuries in racehorses are detected, evaluated, and prevented. According to Becker and Werner, modern imaging technology has not only improved the accuracy of assessing injuries and their severity, along with planning of treatment and recovery, but also the ability to share that crucial information among veterinarians, trainers, and owners.“Now, we have portable systems that are wireless and sometimes they're based with your cell phone or tablet for use, which comes in handy in remote locations when imaging these horses. We've really come a long way with the technology,” said Werner.Tuesday's session also featured a video presentation from Equimetrics, an Irish-based company providing wearable and remote monitoring solutions for equine health, performance, and wellbeing. The video explained the technology behind the wearable sensors that Equimetrics has developed which provide real-time biometric data both during exercise and at rest.Annemarie O'Brien, a champion National Hunt trainer and rider, is the CEO and co-founder of Equimetrics.The post ‘We’ve Really Come a Long Way’: Welfare and Safety Summit Explores Advancements in Safety Technologies and Diagnostic Equipment appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.