California Assembly panel advances bill on CHRB authority

Legislation that will give the California Horse Racing Board the authority to suspend a race meeting on short notice for issues related to equine safety moved closer to passage Thursday after approval by the state Assembly’s governmental organization committee.

Senate Bill 469 was passed by a unanimous vote of 19-0 by Thursday’s Assembly committee and will be forwarded to the Assembly’s appropriations committee. The legislation was approved by a unanimous vote of 38-0 in the state Senate on May 9.

In a 10-minute meeting at lunchtime, the racing legislation was the governmental organization committee’s only subject for discussion or vote.

“We’ve had public outcry and concern over issues at Santa Anita,” committee chairman Adam Gray said. “The horse racing board is the subject of this legislation. We want to move this legislation to the governor’s desk.”

The bill was introduced earlier this year after a series of equine fatalities at Santa Anita since late December that have made national news.

Had the legislation been in place last weekend, it might have been utilized by the racing board. On Sunday, the racing board asked Santa Anita to cancel the final seven racing days of its current meeting, which ends June 23, after a horse suffered a fatal pelvis injury the previous day.

Santa Anita rejected the racing board’s request to end the season, stating it would continue the meeting. Currently, the racing board does not have the power to order a track to cease racing without holding a public meeting with a 10-day notice.

There have been 29 fatalities at the current Santa Anita meeting. Sunday, a horse suffered an apparent heart attack when pulled up in a race.

Senate Bill 469 will allow the racing board to suspend racing “to protect the health and safety of the horses and riders.” Language in the proposed bill states that the racing board can convene an emergency meeting of at least four commissioners, with as little as one-hour public notice, to discuss a possible suspension of racing. On May 23, the racing board agreed to send a letter of support to the state legislature for the proposed legislation.

The bill has the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who endorsed the bill in late May.

“The recent horse fatalities in California are unacceptable,” Newsom said at the time 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.”