Taking a cursory look at the database available to the public by the NYSGC, not accounting for surface, injury type, cause of death, or off meet incidents, the average number of fatalities over the past 10 years at Saratoga has been approximately 15 (with a range from 10 to 20).
That doesn't mean there isn't a unique factor(s) at this specific meet that have led to some of the problems (especially in the face of increased safety measures that have been implemented over the past few years).
Nevertheless, if the overall numbers this year don't actually represent an increase incidence of injury from other years, then perhaps a lot of people's sensitivity/distress is the result of coverage bias by the media.
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