Equine Innovators

Properly preparing racetrack surfaces is imperative for horse and jockey safety. It requires selecting the right materials, monitoring moisture content, watching the weather, and finely tuned maintenance from a highly trained crew. In this Equine Innovators podcast, we talk to Mick Peterson, PhD, director of the University of Kentucky’s Racetrack Safety Program. As a bioengineer, he and his team studies how horses interact with track surfaces to help improve safety and performance. They also monitor tracks throughout the United States.

This podcast is the fourth episode in our “Equine Innovators” podcast series, brought to you by Zoetis.

Michael “Mick” Peterson, PhD, is a professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering at the University of Kentucky, where he serves as directory of the Racetrack Safety Program. His research focuses on animal biomechanics engineering, specifically racehorses and racetrack surfaces.

University of Kentucky researcher Dr. Peter Timoney talks about the deadly African horse sickness and what it will take to prevent its arrival in unaffected countries. This podcast is the third episode in our new “Equine Innovators” podcast series, brought to you by Zoetis. 

Peter J. Timoney, MVB, MS, PhD, FRCVS, is a professor and Frederick Van Lennep Chair in Equine Veterinary Science at the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center, in Lexington. He received a MVB degree in veterinary medicine from National University of Ireland (UCD), MS in virology from the University of Illinois, PhD from the University of Dublin, and Fellowship from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, London. He has worked at the Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dublin, Ireland; Cornell University; and the Irish Equine Centre, and has specialized in infectious diseases of the horse since 1972.

University of Kentucky researcher and equine industry economist Dr. Jill Stowe gives an glimpse of how COVID-19 is impacting the horse world and looks at the financial challenges that lie ahead. This podcast is the second episode in our new “Equine Innovators” podcast series, brought to you by Zoetis. 

Jill Stowe, PhD, is an associate professor in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Agricultural Economics (UK Ag) and previously served as director of the UK Ag Equine Programs. Her areas of specialization include economics of the equine industry, decision making under risk and uncertainty, other-regarding preferences, incentives, and neuroeconomics. Her research has been published in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Economic Inquiry, Neuron, and Nature Neuroscience. Stowe received a PhD in economics from Texas A&M University (2002) and was previously on the faculty at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business (2002-2008).

University of Kentucky researcher and leading equine parasitologist, Dr. Martin Nielsen, talks about his research and the future of equine internal parasite control. This podcast is the premier episode in our new “Equine Innovators” podcast series.

Martin Krarup Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVM, is an associate professor of parasitology and the Schlaikjer professor in equine infectious disease at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, in Lexington. His research focus includes parasite diagnostic measures and drug resistance. Known as a foremost expert in the field of equine parasites, Dr. Nielsen chaired the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) parasite control task force, which produced the “AAEP Parasite Control Guidelines.”