LAKEWOOD - November 26, 2025 – The Colorado Division of Racing recently wrapped up the 2025 season, coordinating successful and safe races with State staff, track operators, and horsemen and women.
The season’s successes include:
- A safe racing environment: The State and its partners worked together to ensure that racing facilities were safe for competitors and workers.
- Quality veterinary care: Through screening and an onsite veterinarian, the Division of Racing and its partners prevented serious injuries. No horses were euthanized due to racing or training-related injuries. Racing staff engaged in repeated observations of horses on race days from first thing in the morning to post time.
- A robust schedule: The season, which opened in early September, spanned 30 live race days of intense competition with over 180 races run with hundreds of horses competing.
This race season demonstrated that competitive racing can be conducted with the highest standards of equine welfare. Fiscal data will be available at a later date.
"This season represents a significant shift in Colorado's racing landscape," said Mike Phibbs, Senior Director of the Specialized Business Group. "The goal was always simple: to protect the athletes — both human and equine — while preserving the integrity of the sport. We are incredibly proud of the vigilance, the new protocols, and the commitment from everyone in the racing community that made this zero-fatality season possible."
Keys to the success were the pre-race veterinary examinations, continuous track surface maintenance throughout the season, and horsemen ensuring horses were ready to compete. These measures created an environment where the health and safety of the horses were the paramount priority before, during, and after every race.
The Division of Racing Events looks forward to carrying this momentum into the next season, continuing its dedication to equine safety to continue to uphold a standard for responsible racing.