Filly dies of apparent heart attack at Santa Anita hours after CHRB requests track cut its meet short

ARCADIA, Calif. – Times are dark at Santa Anita Park, which on Sunday declined a recommendation from the California Horse Racing Board to suspend racing for the final seven days of the meet in the wake of another equine fatality on Saturday.

Daily Racing Form reported earlier that Formal Dude sustained a fractured pelvis in the 10th race Saturday and was later euthanized.

Bad fortune continued Sunday when a 3-year-old filly collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack near the conclusion of an allowance turf race.

Truffalino, a 3-year-old filly trained by Richard Mandella, was pulled up inside the eighth pole. Moments after jockey Joe Talamo dismounted, Truffalino collapsed.

“They think it was a heart attack,” Mandella said. “I don’t know. I wish I had an answer.”

Truffalino did not appear to have sustained an injury to any limbs.

The incident adds fuel to the call for Santa Anita to suspend the remainder of its meet, which ends June 23. Earlier in the day, the track declined.

According to a CHRB prepared statement, prior to the Truffalino incident, CHRB officials “recommended to Santa Anita management that they suspend racing for the seven remaining race days but that they allow horses to continue to train during that period. This would provide the industry more time to fully implement announced safety initiatives and perhaps additional ones.”

The CHRB statement added “Santa Anita management, after consultation with certain other industry stakeholders, believes that for a variety of reasons, the future of California racing is best served by continuing to race.”

The CHRB, under current law, does not have the authority to suspend a race meet or remove race dates from a current meet without the approval of the track operator or without holding a public meeting with 10 days public notice.

On Sunday evening, Santa Anita's owner, The Stronach Group, released a statement addressing the recent fatalities and the CHRB's call for the track to end the meet early:

“We are collectively working on behalf of everyone in the sport -- grooms, hot walkers, jockeys, exercise riders, starters, trainers, owners, track managers and every horse wearing a bridle and a saddle -- to reform and improve racing every day. After extensive consultation among all partners, Santa Anita Park will stay open through the end of its meet to see these reforms through.

Since wide-sweeping reforms have been instituted at Santa Anita, catastrophic injuries have dropped considerably compared to earlier this meet, decreasing by 50 percent in racing and by more than 84 percent in training. To be clear, there are no acceptable losses, and every day we work toward ending all serious injuries. But the reality is that our improvements and changes have been effective.

A detailed and serious epidemiological investigation of all track accidents is underway and will continue with the greatest urgency. Track management, owners, trainers and veterinarians, are re-doubling their vigilance and close supervision of both training and racing protocols and will consider all enhancements to the sweeping new protocols already introduced. We have great respect for Governor Newsom and the CHRB, and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to discuss these issues.”