ARCADIA, Calif. – The California Horse Racing Board has called a meeting for April 12 to discuss the potential of moving racing days away from Santa Anita this spring. The scheduled meeting was announced Tuesday, the day California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to racing board chairman Chuck Winner calling for the suspension of racing until “the cause or causes” of 23 equine fatalities since late December “can be fully investigated.” Speaking Tuesday evening in a telephone interview, Winner declined to comment on Feinstein’s letter. “I want to speak to the senator’s people and the governor’s people,” he said in reference to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The racing board announced that the sole agenda item of the April 12 meeting is to discuss and possibly take action on the “reallocation of race dates granted to the Los Angeles Turf Club at Santa Anita Park Race Track.” At its regularly scheduled monthly meeting last week, the racing board voted to change rules related to the transfer of racing dates from one venue to another, approving a measure that would allow a rapid shift in racing locations provided the track hosting races and the venue in which they would be transferred to reach an agreement on terms of a relocation. Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, Santa Anita’s parent company, said Wednesday morning that the track intends to complete its current meeting, through June 23. “We have no intention of moving the meet at this point,” Ritvo said. The issue of equine safety at Santa Anita has been a subject of widespread interest in the Los Angeles media in recent weeks. The Feinstein letter was written two days after Arms Runner suffered a fatal injury in the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes on Sunday, the 23rd horse lost since late December. The San Simeon was run on the hillside turf course, which includes a crossing of the main track before the field rejoins the oval portion of the turf course for the stretch run. Arms Runner suffered a leg injury while making the crossing, causing a two-horse spill. Santa Anita will suspend racing on the hillside turf course this week “to look at data,” Ritvo said Wednesday. The other horse in the San Simeon spill, La Sardane, was “bruised,” trainer Neil Drysdale said Sunday. Racing was suspended after the March 3 program for an inspection and renovation of the main track after months of higher-than-normal rainfall and a series of equine fatalities. The track resumed racing last Friday after 13 missed racing days from March 7 through March 28. There were eight races run Friday and 10 on Saturday without incident. When training resumed on the main track March 11, new measures were put in place, including greater scrutiny of horses undergoing workouts. When racing resumed last Friday, a new set of protocols were in place, notably a 50 percent reduction in the permissible dosages of the anti-bleeder medication Lasix to 5 ccs, a suspension of authorized thresholds on legal therapeutic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, an increase in out-of-competition testing, and the transparency of veterinary records when horses switch stables. Santa Anita is scheduled to run Thursday through Sunday this week. The Saturday program is the biggest day of racing so far this year, with three Grade 1 races led by the $1 million Santa Anita Derby for Triple Crown contenders, the $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap for older horses, and the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. “I hope racing will proceed safely and well,” said Winner, who has owned horses for decades. “No one wants to see horses go down.” Winner said the racing board cannot decree an immediate transfer of racing dates without a public hearing. “The CHRB doesn’t have the authority to suspend racing,” he said. “We can hear the options.” Winner said The Stronach Group “and whoever” would have to agree on a transfer of racing dates. “There are all sorts of issues,” he said. There are two other suitable venues in Southern California – Del Mar and Los Alamitos. Del Mar hosts other events on the racetrack property through the year and is approaching a busy few months that would make the transfer of racing to that venue very difficult. The facility is scheduled to host the Del Mar National Horse Show from April 16 to May 5. The San Diego County Fair, which takes over the entire facility, runs from May 31 to July 4. The track’s summer meeting begins July 17. “There’s some issues that are pretty hard to get around,” Del Mar chairman Joe Harper said in a phone interview Tuesday evening, mentioning the upcoming events. “One is the turf course is not ready at all. That’s the major one. “This is one of the biggest horse shows in the country. You can’t say, ‘Go away.’ It’s here. Obviously, we will do everything we can if the situation arises. It’s really not a decision to make. We have to sit down with everybody and discuss all the possibilities and help where we can. “We can never say never.” Los Alamitos is approximately 33 miles from Santa Anita and would be a more viable option, if an agreement is reached to allow racing to continue in some form in the immediate future. Los Alamitos is currently running a year-round evening race meeting of Quarter Horses and lower-level Thoroughbreds. Los Alamitos is scheduled to run a three-week summer meeting for Thoroughbreds during the day from June 27 to July 14, which is designed to follow the conclusion of the current Santa Anita schedule on June 23. Los Alamitos vice president Jack Liebau said Tuesday evening that the track is willing to assist. “Los Alamitos is willing to do what the industry wants us to do,” he said. Liebau said Tuesday evening that he had not been in contact with Santa Anita officials about a potential transfer of racing dates. Winner mentioned several issues that make an immediate transfer of racing dates difficult, notably the lack of a turf course at Los Alamitos, stabling issues, concern about jobs at Santa Anita, and the availability of horses. Los Alamitos has year-round stabling for Thoroughbreds that compete on the daytime Southern California circuit. Track officials said last month that some temporary stalls could be used if demand for stabling increased.