Racing NSW delays mandatory Sleip rollout in favour of trainer trial

NSW trainers are a step closer to Swedish-developed lameness detection technology being mandated, with confirmation the Sleip App will be trialled by a selection of stables across the state.

A controversial plan to introduce the iPhone-based Sleip App was first raised with trainers in May, with critics questioning the validity of the technology and how its findings would be interpreted by Racing NSW veterinarians.

Amid pushback from participants, who were initially told it would be in place from July 1, Racing NSW and the state’s trainers’ association reached a compromise: a trial would be conducted to assess the positive and negative impacts of rolling out the Sleip App.

Richard Callander, the NSWTA chief executive, wrote to members this week confirming the Sleip App trial would be implemented.

“I appreciate that many trainers have been anxious about Racing NSW’s anticipated rollout of Sleip AI technology. I urge everyone to take a deep breath,” Callander said in an email.

“Following the correspondence and feedback received from trainers across the state, Racing NSW has listened to those concerns and has taken them on board. 

“As a result, the original implementation process has been wound back, allowing time for further consultation and refinement before the technology is introduced more broadly.”

The update follows “an extremely productive Teams meeting” between a working group of trainers where feedback and suggestions were made by the cohort of horsepeople to Dr Garling “on how the technology can best serve the NSW racing industry”.

“The process is now beginning to take shape, but please be assured there will be no rush. It will be a gradual, measured rollout, and trainers will receive support every step of the way,” Callander said. 

“The working group will continue to meet with Racing NSW as the system is refined, ensuring trainers’ voices remain at the centre of the implementation.”

Callander reinforced that the trainers’ association would continue to advocate in members’ best interests about the Sleip App rollout.

“The number one reason Racing NSW is seeking to implement this technology is to improve safety and help save the lives of both horses and people,” he said.

“If it prevents even one tragedy involving a horse or a participant, then it will have been worthwhile.

“We will continue to keep members informed as discussions progress and further details become available.”

The identities of the trainers who are members of the working group or are participating in the official trial of the Sleip App have not been disclosed.

Racing NSW had planned to require all licensed trainers to submit weekly videos of their horses trotting up using the Sleip App.

The Sleip App analyses a horse’s gait and is designed to help detect signs of potential lameness.

Since Racing NSW unveiled the proposal on May 25, participants have raised concerns over the multimillion-dollar annual cost of the app, the extra workload the requirements would place on trainers, and how the data would be collected, managed and ultimately used.

How interstate-trained horses would be managed is another issue that Racing NSW’s veterinary team is yet to publicly clarify while trainers have flagged the imposition of the extra labour costs as a significant factor.

Despite the negativity among sections of trainers, others have taken it upon themselves to subscribe to the Sleip App to gain a handle on how the technology works.

“I trotted up 21 horses this morning. One flagged as orange, which was a surprise, and I had one flag as red, which I knew it would as he has a foot abscess,” the trainer told The Straight.

The trainer also reported that an older gelding, who has had about 40 starts, had also trotted up “green”, the colour used to demonstrate that the horse has a clean bill of health for lameness, according to Sleip.

“He’s off for a spell, but next prep, if he has one, change colour; well, we know something has changed,” they said.