Dana Stead, veterinarian on the Southern California Thoroughbred circuit for 14 years, to resign

CYPRESS, Calif. - Dana Stead, the track veterinarian on the Southern California Thoroughbred circuit for the last 14 years, is resigning his position on Dec. 17, he said late Sunday afternoon.

In an interview after the conclusion of the races at Los Alamitos on Sunday, Stead, 42, said he is “moving on from California."

“I put in my 14 years here and I’m looking to do some other things,” Stead said.

In a one-page letter recently sent to California track and regulatory officials, Stead wrote that “it is with a heavy heart that I must announce my decision to leave California.”

Stead wrote in the last 14 years that he has enjoyed “great racing and even better people,” but that the job of track veterinarian has “come at much sacrifice to my personal happiness and that is why I decided to make a change.”

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As track veterinarian, Stead spent mornings conducting pre-race examinations and afternoons traveling from the paddock to the starting gate with the field, observing the horses’ condition as post time neared. In recent years, as greater regulatory oversight has been implemented in California regarding the condition of racehorses, the job of track veterinarian has been the subject of greater scrutiny.

In his letter, Stead wrote that a series of incidents in recent years, including a high-profile series of fatal injuries that led to the brief shutdown of Santa Anita in the late winter and spring of 2019, being a defendant in “frivolous litigation,” and watching “my esteemed colleagues be labeled criminals by the profession we serve” and fighting off “an attack by anonymous parties that tried to do the same to me” as factors in his decision to resign.

“It has all taken a heavy toll,” he wrote.

Stead praised the work of the California Horse Racing Board to “lead the industry in safety with rules that have helped shape national policy.

“Track management has gone above and beyond to create a team of veterinarians dedicated to protecting our equine and human athletes.”

A native of Glendale, not far from Santa Anita, Stead said on Sunday that he began attending the races at Santa Anita at the age of 8. He said he has held discussions about a new job, but did not offer specifics.

“I haven’t made any final decisions,” he said. “I’m talking to some people.”

In the short term, Stead said he was looking forward to visiting family for the holidays in North Texas.

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