Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Board Weighs New Rules After 22 Horse Deaths at Santa Anita
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 28, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — The California Horse Racing Board will weigh new safety and medication rules Thursday in the wake of 22 horse deaths at Santa Anita.

The board is meeting at the track northeast of Los Angeles to consider whether to ban medication and whips on racing days, among other changes. If approved, Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California would become the first racetracks in the nation to impose such restrictions.

Santa Anita agreed to make the changes after 22 horses suffered fatal injuries at the track in less than three months, angering animal rights groups, prompting protests and leading to the suspension of racing since March 5.

Racing is expected to resume Friday pending the board’s votes on a number of key issues, including phasing out a medication known as Lasix, already banned on race days in every country but the U.S. and Canada.

While many American horse trainers say Lasix is a vital anti-bleeding medication that keeps horses safe, animal-rights activists say it amounts to a performance-enhancing drug and that most tracks in the world do fine without.

Also up for discussion at the board meeting will be limiting the use of riding crops, a move controversial among many jockeys and owners who argue that they help keep horses safe during races.

‘The Current System Is Broken’

In a statement earlier this month, Santa Anita’s owner said “the current system is broken.”

“The sport of horse racing is the last great sporting legacy platform to be modernized. If we expect our sport to grow for future generations, we must raise our standards.” — Belinda Stronach, president of The Stronach Group

“The sport of horse racing is the last great sporting legacy platform to be modernized,” Belinda Stronach, president of The Stronach Group, said in a statement. “If we expect our sport to grow for future generations, we must raise our standards.”

The track’s efforts in the wake of the horse deaths have garnered praise from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has urged other tracks throughout the country to take the same measures as Santa Anita.

“The only positive in this is it happened at a track where the owners were willing to see what they could do to prevent it,” said Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s senior vice president.

She said she planned to attend the racing board’s meeting and hopes its members approve all of the Santa Anita’s proposed changes.

“These new rules are the most progressive actions to help horses in a generation,” she said. “I’m very eager to see what happens.”

DON'T MISS

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

DON'T MISS

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

DON'T MISS

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

DON'T MISS

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

UP NEXT

Carbon Monoxide Was Cause of Death of Brett Gardner’s Teen Son, Officials Confirm

UP NEXT

Bettors Back Duke Men and UConn Women for National Championships

UP NEXT

Flores Homers, Matos and Wade Also Go Deep to Help Giants Cap Sweep of Astros

UP NEXT

After Briefly Disappearing, TikTok Went Back to Normal. Or Did It?

UP NEXT

Ohtani’s Walk-off Homer Boosts Dodgers to 8-0 With Another Comeback Win

UP NEXT

Here’s How the New NFL Rules on Kickoffs and Overtime Will Work

UP NEXT

Webb Pitches 7 Strong Innings as Giants Beat Astros

UP NEXT

Curry Drops 52 as Warriors Beat Grizzlies, Move into Fifth in West

UP NEXT

Dodgers Extend Perfect Start Behind May and Betts’ Heroics

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

37 minutes ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

2 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

4 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

4 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

4 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

4 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

5 hours ago

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

5 hours ago

As Dem Candidates for Governor Increase, They Wait for Harris to Decide

5 hours ago

No More Calling ‘Shotgun?’ CA Could Ban Teens From Riding in Front Seat

5 hours ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

According to a Bloomberg report cited by Investing.com, China has introduced new limitations affecting its local companies planning investme...

4 minutes ago

4 minutes ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

27 minutes ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

33 minutes ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

37 minutes ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
2 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

4 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

Vice President Mike Pence hands the electoral certificate from the state of Arizona to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as he presides over a joint session of Congress as it convenes to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP File)
4 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

4 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend