"Governor backs measure to expand racing board powers" by John Antczak, San Diego Union-Tribune 5312019
In wake of horse deaths, bill would allow prompt suspension of meets
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’s supporting legislation that would give the California Horse Racing Board authority to quickly suspend a meet license when necessary to protect the health and safety of horses or riders.
The announcement Thursday follows the deaths of 26 horses at Santa Anita since Dec. 26.
“The recent horse fatalities in California are unacceptable,” Newsom said in a statement. “We must hold the horse racing industry to account. If we can regulate horse race meets, we should have the authority to suspend licenses when animal or human welfare is at risk.”
The legislation, SB469 by state Sen. Bill Dodd, would allow the board to immediately suspend a license without the usual legal notice at least 10 days in advance of a vote, or the 48-hour requirement in the case of so-called special meetings. The bill has cleared the Senate and now goes to the Assembly.
“Santa Anita Park has led the way in implementing historic reforms that modern racing requires,” Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for track owner The Stronach Group, said in an email.
“We are committed to working with Governor Newsom and to continue the progress we have made to date with owners, trainers, jockeys and all other stakeholders who are prioritizing horse and rider safety,” he said.
Santa Anita’s current meet ends June 23. On Nov. 1-2, it will host the Breeders’ Cup, considered the biggest two-day event in U.S. horse racing.
Los Alamitos, in Orange County, will then race for three weeks before Del Mar [San Diego] opens it summer meeting July 17.
After the summer meet in 2016, during which 17 horses died, Del Mar invested $5 million in upgrading the track surface and added more veterinarian oversight. Track officials also reduced racing days in order to have more time after the San Diego County Fair to make the track safe.
Fatalities at Del Mar dropped by 70.6 percent over the past two summers.
The rate of deaths at Santa Anita began drawing notice during the winter when the track east of Los Angeles received unusually heavy rain, bringing scrutiny of the condition of the surface.
Most of the deaths occurred before the track temporarily suspended racing in early March and limited training.
Before racing resumed March 29, Santa Anita instituted medication limits and provided additional track veterinarians to monitor training hours. The racing board also increased veterinarian, steward and investigator staffing time.
In the meantime, the Los Angeles County district attorney opened an investigation and animal-rights activists have protested at the track.
The most recent death was on May 26, when a 9-year-old gelding was euthanized after injuring a leg in a race a day earlier. It was the third horse death in nine days.
Among the array of new measures aimed at improving safety, The Stronach Group invested $500,000 in a scanning machine to detect injuries.
In addition, no race-day medications are allowed except for the anti-bleeding medication Lasix, which will be phased out in stages. Medications for horses in training require a diagnosis from a state-qualified veterinarian, and transparency of veterinarian records has been increased.
Timed, high-speed workouts require permission at least 48 hours in advance so that veterinarians can try to identify at-risk horses.
The group also said it would continue working with independent track surface experts.
Antczak writes for The Associated Press. U-T staff writer Bryce Miller contributed to this report.
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