County official says health department still deciding whether to allow Santa Anita to reopen

A Los Angeles County supervisor declined on Friday to say when Santa Anita would be allowed to reopen - without spectators - amidst the coronavirus outbreak.

In a question-and-answer session on local television, Kathryn Barger acknowledged that county officials are reviewing a set of protocols Santa Anita officials recently proposed to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that would be put in place if the track is allowed to reopen.

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Barger was asked why Santa Anita has not been allowed to race “behind closed doors,” considering tracks in some other states are conducting horse racing without crowds, safely and with established protocols in place.

In her response, Barger did not say whether Santa Anita’s proposed protocols would be accepted and the track allowed to open. She raised the concern of the people coming to the track to help conduct racing spreading the virus.

Barger said Santa Anita’s proposals are being reviewed by county health director Barbara Ferrer, who has appeared often during the last six weeks in Los Angeles media outlets.

“There are 750 people that live onsite at Santa Anita,” Barger said. “We have got their proposal. Dr. Ferrer is looking at it with our counsel. I always err on the side of public health. They addressed some of the concerns that were raised the first time round, so we’ll look at it.”

Santa Anita is located in Arcadia, which is part of Barger’s district.

The track has not raced since March 22 and was told to close by county health officials on March 27 when it was deemed a nonessential business. Training has continued at Santa Anita since the track was closed with a limited number of personnel allowed on the grounds.

Through this Sunday, the track will have lost 15 days of racing. Santa Anita officials said earlier this week that the track is hoping to receive clearance to resume racing in the near future.

If approval is granted, track officials said the facility will need seven to 10 days of preparation before racing can resume.

Santa Anita raced for five days, from March 14 to March 22, without spectators and with a limited number of track employees. From March 20-22, horse owners were not permitted to attend.

In its recent proposal, Santa Anita officials said it would expand on protocols put in place in mid-March. The amended protocols would require jockeys, assistant starters and a group of grooms who will handle horses being saddled for racing to live in onsite accommodations that will be constructed in a parking lot.

The Santa Anita meeting is scheduled to conclude on June 21.