Los Alamitos readies for influx of horses as Santa Anita inspection begins

As rain cleared out of Southern California early Thursday, Santa Anita prepared to launch a second inspection of its main track in less than two weeks prompted by 21 equine fatalities since Dec. 26.

About 33 miles away, there was normal activity for horses through the morning at Los Alamitos, which is preparing to host an influx of runners while Santa Anita’s main track is closed for training and racing.

As of Thursday morning, Santa Anita had not announced when its main track would reopen for training or racing.

Track consultant Dennis Moore, who left Santa Anita in December, resumed working with the track earlier this week and was scheduled to begin an inspection of the surface on Thursday with Mick Peterson, director of the University of Kentucky’s Agricultural Equine Program.

Peterson participated in an inspection of the track on Feb. 25-27 that track officials and Peterson said found no irregularities. Racing resumed on Feb. 28. Two horses afterward suffered fatal injuries in racing or training, one each on March 2 and on Tuesday.

Moore, the track superintendent at Del Mar and Los Alamitos, and Peterson were to oversee testing of the track’s consistency, the track said in a statement.

Their findings are expected to lead to a decision when racing and training can resume.

The presence of the 69-year-old Moore was seen as a positive by some horsemen.

“I’m glad he’s back,” said one trainer.

Santa Anita was considering opening its infield training track this weekend for horses to jog and gallop, according to several trainers. The track had not made an announcement on the training track’s availability as of early Thursday.

Other trainers were in the process of sending runners to Los Alamitos to be exercised, including Bob Baffert, Peter Eurton, Mark Glatt, Jerry Hollendorfer, Mike Puype, Richard Mandella, John Sadler, and Tim Yakteen, according to Los Alamitos stall superintendent Scott Craigmyle. Some of those trainers have horses and keep stalls at Los Alamitos on a year-round basis, while others do not.

Eurton’s stable is based at Santa Anita.

“I want to stay on top of some of these horses to keep them fit,” Eurton said from Santa Anita. “I don’t know when we’ll be able to breeze or gallop here.”

This weekend, Los Alamitos is expected to have a dedicated period for workouts at the start of each training session to alleviate congestion on the track.

Craigmyle said the Los Alamitos receiving barn was available for temporary housing of horses for trainers who wanted to ship runners to Los Alamitos for workouts and return them to Santa Anita the same day.

“I have 24 stalls bedded and ready to go,” he said.

Sadler said he planned to have horses working at Los Alamitos this weekend.

Saturday was supposed to be a major day for the Sadler stable, and many other barns at Santa Anita. Santa Anita had five stakes scheduled, including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds and Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf. The track has not announced when, or if, those races will be rescheduled.

The $500,000 San Felipe Stakes was scheduled as a prep for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 6, a key feeder race for the Kentucky Derby.

Sadler said on Thursday that he is awaiting information from Santa Anita regarding the Santa Anita Handicap and Kilroe Mile before finalizing plans for some of his runners. He said Gift Box, the winner of the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on Dec. 26 who was an intended runner in the Big Cap, is “still eligible” for the Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates on March 30.

With no live racing at Santa Anita for the immediate future, some jockeys are leaving town.

Leading rider Joel Rosario will ride in Florida for the remainder of the month before relocating to Keeneland in Kentucky. Rosario had planned to ride at Keeneland prior to Santa Anita’s closure, his agent, Ron Anderson, said on Wednesday.

The apprentice jockeys Heriberto Figueroa and Jorge Velez have moved to Golden Gate Fields in Northern California where they will ride on Saturday, according to agent Nelson Arroyo Jr.