California equine fatalities dropped 26 percent in 2021

Equine fatalities at California’s racetracks and training centers declined by 26 percent in 2021, California Horse Racing Board executive director Scott Chaney told the regulatory board on Thursday.

The data was collected from locations under the jurisdiction of the racing board. There were 96 fatalities in 2020 and 71 last year for causes ranging from injuries sustained in racing or training to other incidents such as illnesses or stable accidents.

In testimony at the end of the board’s monthly meeting, Chaney said there were 20 racing-related fatalities from more than 31,000 starts at the state’s Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred race meetings in 2021.

“Make no mistake there is still work to be done,” Chaney told the racing board. “Training injuries, large bone fractures, and sudden deaths remain at the forefront of our concern and work in the promotion of animal welfare and safety.”

The issue of equine fatalities at California racetracks has been widely discussed in recent years. A series of racing and training fatalities at Santa Anita in February and March of 2019 led to widespread changes in medication and veterinary care.

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Last month, Medina Spirit, the first-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in May, died while being exercised at Santa Anita. A cause of death has not been determined, pending a necropsy.

Through Wednesday, there have been five fatalities this year, according to the racing board’s website, including three at Golden Gate Fields. There were five in the entire month of January 2021.

The decline in equine fatalities in the 2021 calendar year mirrors a recent trend. There were 73 fatalities in racing and training or other incidents in the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2021, compared to 122 in the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

The figure was 144 fatalities in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, when the issue was the subject of widespread scrutiny, and as high as 265 in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s meeting, Chaney expressed dismay at the recent decision by the state’s veterinary medical board to suspend the license of equine medical director Jeff Blea. The veterinary medical board suspended Blea’s license amid allegations of administering medications to racehorses “without any documented examination or diagnoses” from September 2020 to January 2021, according to a complaint. At the time, Blea had a private equine medical practice.

Blea became equine medical director on July 1, 2021, replacing Rick Arthur who held the position for 15 years.

Chaney said the racing board has hired “outside counsel to represent our interests” regarding Blea’s suspension.

“I have known and worked for Dr. Blea for more than 20 years,” Chaney said. “He is one of the finest and most ethical veterinarians that I have met and one of the finest humans with whom I have interacted.

“It is not right that his excellent reputation is besmirched in this way. The CHRB is doing everything in its legal power to right this wrong. While we are making due for the time being, in a very real way the CHRB is less effective at protecting animal welfare without him.”

Racing board chairman Greg Ferraro, a former practicing veterinarian, described the allegations against Blea as “ill-advised and slanderous.”

“The CHRB has worked tirelessly in the last two years to improve the health and safety of race horses,” Ferraro said. “He is the best person to lead our effort going forward.”

Blea’s case was scheduled to be discussed by the racing board at a closed hearing after the public meeting.