The broad objective of our proposed study is to identify factors that predispose horses to the risk of musculoskeletal injuries (MIs) and catastrophic events (CEs) during racing at the New York State Thoroughbred Racing Tracks (NYSTR) with the aim of recommending cost-effective strategies to mitigate the associated losses. This objective will be addressed through the following systematic and complementary specific aims: 1) determine the incidence and nature of MIs and CEs among horses racing at the NYSTR as well as the associated factors; 2) identify modifying factors that predispose horses to this risk of MIs and CEs; and 3) examine the concentrations of hyper-phosphorylated neurofilaments (pNF-H) as biological marker for neuronal injuries and a predictor of predisposing factor to racetrack injuries while accounting for the role of oxidative stress.