Director of Equine Welfare position among new safety initiatives planned at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will implement an application system for workouts, create a new position for a Director of Equine Welfare, and allow owners and trainers to have full access to veterinary records of claimed or purchased horses as part of new policies to enhance safety this spring, the track announced on Friday.

The policies will be put in place later this month when racing resumes after a gap of more than 2 1/2 weeks. The main track is currently closed for inspection for the second time in as many weeks following 21 equine fatalities since late December.

The racetrack was closed for racing and training on Tuesday after a filly suffered a fatal injury during training. Racing has not been held since Sunday.

Light training on the main track is scheduled to resume Monday and will be limited to joggers and gallopers. Racing is tentatively scheduled to resume on March 22, track officials said on Friday morning.

Beginning Monday, horses will be allowed to work on the training track after trainers submit a written workout request the preceding day. In a statement released Friday, Santa Anita said such a plan would allow veterinarians to identify horses that may require a pre-workout examination, such as horses that have not raced in considerable time.

The policy will continue when the main track reopens for full training.

The track has hired veterinarians to observe horses during morning training. Friday, Dr. Will Farmer, an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board, was observing horses jogging and galloping on the infield training track on behalf of Santa Anita.

Beginning Monday on the training track, the first 15 minutes when training begins and after renovations will be reserved for horses undergoing workouts.

The track’s parent company, The Stronach Group, said it will create a new job for the Director of Equine Welfare for a veterinarian who will oversee equine safety, conduct investigations of injuries, and convey information to the public.

Santa Anita is launching a program to allow owners and trainers to review full veterinary records of a horse acquired by private sale or through a claim to gain a better understanding of the individual runner’s medical history.

A similar policy is in place at Gulfstream Park, the track said in a statement.