Feinstein renews call for halt to racing at Santa Anita Park

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Monday renewed her call for an "immediate moratorium" on racing at Santa Anita Park, where three equine fatalities in nine days have track safety issues under the magnifying glass again.

"How many more horses must die before concrete steps are taken to address what is clearly an acute problem?" Feinstein said. “I once again call for an immediate moratorium on racing at Santa Anita. We need a thorough investigation of practices and conditions at the track before any more races are held."

Feinstein's announcement came as Santa Anita successfully completed one of its biggest race cards of the year, staging the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Shoemaker Mile and Gamely Stakes on Memorial Day.

The trio of fatalities, which upped the total since Santa Anita's season began on Dec. 26 to 26 from racing or training, came about for different reasons.

The May 17 death of Commander Coil ended a span of 46 days and thousands of workouts without a death. The 3-year-old gelding was un-raced and suffered a shoulder injury while galloping.

Spectacular Music, a 3-year-old making his first start on May 19, was pulled up and euthanized the next day as a result of a pelvis injury, which equine medical experts say are difficult to spot if pre-existing.

The 9-year-old Kochees was the 26th and most recent horse to die after he was euthanized Sunday as a result of injury Saturday. Attempts were made to save him after a leg fracture.

Those deaths ended a run that saw 698 starters on the main track and 651 on turf from April 1 to May 18 without a fatality, according to track operator The Stronach Group.

Feinstein originally called for a halt to racing at Santa Anita on April 2. Her new statement continues: “I believe we need to carefully review what medications horses are given and under what circumstances, as well as take a close look at the issue of overrunning horses, which may be contributing to deaths.

“Tracks in the United States have significantly higher rates of death than tracks overseas. We need to determine what we’re doing wrong in this country and fix it. If we can’t, we need to consider whether horse racing has a future here.”

Santa Anita Park has instituted a number of new safety measures since March, including protocols that demand clearance to race from both a trainer's veterinarian and track vet.

RELATED: Santa Anita's 'new normal' includes safety measures

Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, who conditioned Kochees, told the Associated Press he expected the gelding would win his race Saturday.

"We wouldn't have led him over if we didn't like him," said Hollendorfer, who during the current Santa Anita season also lost the Breeders' Cup winner Battle of Midway after a morning training incident.

"...In my mind there is absolutely no doubt that we've done every single thing properly with Kochees and all the rest of our horses, too."

Separately, on Tuesday, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a statement calling for a nationwide halt to racing until other jurisdictions enact the safety protocals undertaken at Santa Anita.

"While national attention has been focused on racing deaths at Santa Anita, horses continue to die at tracks across the country," said PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. "In New York alone, where the Belmont Stakes will soon be held and where PETA has 350,000 supporters, 15 Thoroughbreds have died while racing or training so far this year — and 148 died in the last two years. Yet neither New York nor any other state has enacted the rules that The Stronach Group and the California Horse Racing Board have put in place and continue to strengthen.

"There is no excuse for this inaction. PETA is calling for the suspension of racing nationwide until every racing jurisdiction matches or surpasses what California has done. Trainers, owners, and veterinarians have recklessly controlled racing and imperiled horses for too long, and those days must come to an end."