Description
Melbourne Cup Lunch
Rotary Melbourne Lunch 4 November 2026
Speaker Dr Ashleigh Morrice-West
Topic: 'Working towards early detection and prevention of injuries and fatalities in Thoroughbred racehorses'
Dr Ashleigh Morrice‑West has a dual position at the University of Melbourne’s Equine Centre, both as a Research Fellow and Equine Sports Medicine Clinician. After undertaking a Bachelor of Science and then a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ashleigh then undertook a PhD, all at the University of Melbourne. Her PhD which was conferred in November 2020 investigated training and racing workloads in Thoroughbred racehorses and their relationship to performance and bone fatigue. She has an extensive knowledge of the Australian and international equine racing industries gained through her PhD and ongoing academic research, engagement with industry regulatory bodies and participants, and active treatment and management of clinical cases in the University of Melbourne’s equine clinical hospital. She was accepted as a member to the Australian New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2023. Her current research focus is on the use of wearable technology for injury prediction and the use of advanced imaging in identifying horses at increased risk of fracture. She has a keen interest in diagnosis and management of stress-induced musculoskeletal injuries in racehorses and performance horses alike.
Ashleigh will share how cutting‑edge science is being used to protect the horses behind Australia’s most iconic races. Drawing on her dual role as an equine sports medicine clinician and researcher at the University of Melbourne’s Equine Centre, Ashleigh’s presentation, explores why racehorses are prone to fractures and what can be done to stop “the race that stops a nation” from ending in fatalities.
She will explain how new screening tools, from advanced imaging to wearable technologies that track bone stress long before a break occurs, are changing the way veterinarians, researchers and regulators think about risk and horse welfare. This engaging session offers a behind‑the‑scenes look at how injury prevention strategies are being developed and applied in events such as the Melbourne Cup and for high-risk cohorts of horses, and shows how evidence‑based innovation can make racing safer for horses, riders and the industry’s future.
Join us for our Cup Day lunch and conversation.
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