CHRB: Santa Anita tweaks schedule, Golden Gate fatalities spike

The upcoming Santa Anita winter-spring meet will have two additional days of live racing this month (Dec. 27, Dec. 30) and will include a four-day break in April as part of the license approved by the California Horse Racing Board on Wednesday.

Also at its regularly monthly meeting, the board narrowly approved Golden Gate’s license to conduct a six-month meet beginning Dec. 22. The approval, which came on a split vote of 4-3, followed a lengthy discussion by the commissioners who expressed concern over a recent spate of equine fatalities at the Northern California track. The license was approved with the caveat it would come under review every 30 days.

Golden Gate had four racehorses die during a seven-day period last month beginning on Nov. 14 and a pony also perished on Nov. 6. Two of the racehorse deaths stemmed from musculoskeletal injuries. A cause of death has yet to be determined in the other two instances.

Vice chairman Oscar Gonzalez initially filed a motion that would have granted Golden Gate only a three-month license for the meet, which runs through June 14. He noted this would allow the board to “monitor the situation” and suspend racing if the situation did not improve.

“There’s got to be a level of seriousness when it comes to taking care of horses and riders,” Gonzalez said.

Chairman Gregory Ferraro countered by noting he, executive director Scott Chaney and equine medical director Dr. Jeff Blea all recently visited Golden Gate to address the board's concerns.

“We had meetings with trainers, management, et cetera…telling them we had to lower those injury rates or else,” Ferraro said. “We are working with them and trying to improve the situation, so it’s not like we are doing nothing.”

The motion for a three-month license to Golden Gate was ultimately voted down and the compromise proposal with a monthly review was approved on a split vote. Ferraro cast the deciding vote following “yes” votes from Commissioners Alex Solis, Damascus Castellanos and Dennis Alfieri. Gonzalez and commissioners Wendy Mitchell and Brenda Davis voted “no.”

The Santa Anita meet, which opens the day after Christmas and runs through June 21, will have no live racing on April 22, 23, 24 and 29. Additionally, as part of the license approved for Santa Anita, bettors will now have the option to make alternate selections in all of the track's multi-race wagers rather than being relegated to the post-time favorite. 

Also during the executive director’s report, Chaney reported the CHRB would be rejoining the Association of Racing Commissioners International on Jan. 1.

“California left that organization a few years ago based largely on philosophical and political differences,” Chaney said. “However, with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on the horizon, we find that our interests are in line with other racing commissions, which in part led to this decision.”

Chaney added one concern the CHRB has with HISA’s proposed rules is its regulation on use of the riding crop. He said while it would largely "mirror" the CHRB rule, it also allows for the crop to be used in an overhand position, which California rules do not.

“We would use all the tools at our disposal to convince (HISA) that sector rollback is a non-starter for the California Horse Racing Board,” Chaney said.