CHRB report on Santa Anita fatalities released; read in full

A long-awaited report was released Tuesday by the California Horse Racing Board detailing equine fatalities at Santa Anita Park that made national news headlines and led to a number of reforms across the industry.

The report focuses on 23 deaths as a result of racing and training between Dec. 30, 2018, and March 31, 2019, and found that no illegal medications were used on those horses. A majority of them, however, 21, exhibited "evidence of pre-existing pathology at the side of their fatal injury."

Other key findings, according to the report, were that 39% of the fatalities occurred on wet surfaces. While trainers "expressed concern over the condition of the track due to weather, none blamed the track itself for any fatality."

Seven additional fatalities at Santa Anita from April 1 through June 23, 2019, were not included in the report, as they were deemed "pathologically distinct."

The 76-page report is summarized with 14 bullet points of “key findings” and a “summary of recommendations.” The CHRB noted its investigation ran concurrently to a separate investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office into potential crimes that “did not find evidence of animal cruelty or unlawful conduct relating to the equine fatalities at Santa Anita Park.”

Other findings include that 11 horses had received intra-articular (joint) corticosteroid injections with two of those coming within 14 days of injury. And of the 22 catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries, 19 were the result of sesamoid bone fractures.

The report also notes several trainers said they had been pressured by track management to enter horses, but only one cited a specific example.

Among recommendations, all shared near the beginning of the report, is to establish strict criteria for canceling racing based on weather; require continuing education for trainers; and seek industry support for research into sesamoid bone and fetlock injuries, which caused the vast number of these fatalities.

A statement from Santa Anita owner/operator The Stronach Group said there has been a 64 percent reduction in catastrophic injuries at the track this year, and "we have not had a single fatality during racing on our main track for the entirety of this season.

"While the first number represents a positive development, the second number is always the goal. We welcome the opportunity to work together with our industry partners to implement the suggested reforms and to make 2020 a year we can all be proud of."

The CHRB's report details all 23 horses' cases from last year, with notes about that runner's veterinarian history and a list of possible contributing factors. It can be read in full below: