UMaine Engineer Receives Award for Racetrack-Safety Research
Contact: Mick Peterson (207) 581-2129; Tom Weber (207) 581-3777
(Media Advisory: Public interest in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes has been heightened considerably because of the possibility that it might produce a Triple Crown winner. Prof. Mick Peterson, a leading expert in racing biomechanics and track-related injuries, is available to talk with the media about his valuable role in trying to make the sport safer for horses.)
ORONO — Michael “Mick” Peterson, a University of Maine professor of mechanical engineering, was recently named co-recipient of the second annual Elastikon Equine Research Award for his extensive and novel work aimed at making the country’s race tracks safer for horses.
Peterson shared the $43,000 award, funded through a grant by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, with collaborator Wayne McIlwraith of Colorado State University, an expert in equine orthopedic surgery.
Peterson invented a biomechanical hoof device for testing racetracks that duplicates the force produced by a running horse. He uses it to test the response of the track to the impact of a horse hoof during a race and to measure the forces placed on a horse’s leg. Data generated by the robotic hoof can help horse owners and trainers, jockeys and track managers make more informed decisions about racing on certain surfaces and in particular conditions.
As part of their efforts to reduce injuries to race horses, Peterson and McIlwraith will assist track superintendents in establishing a protocol for standardizing tracks and ensuring uniformity among their surfaces.