Racing in wet, hot, or windy conditions to be closely monitored at Santa Anita

Santa Anita officials were advised by the California Horse Racing Board on Thursday to proceed with caution regarding racing in wet weather at the track’s winter-spring meeting, which begins on Dec. 26.

An eight-page paper was presented at Thursday’s board meeting dictating protocols on whether racing can be conducted in the event of hot weather, high winds, lightning, or rain.

In the event of rain, no training will take place on a sealed racetrack, the document stated.

Whether it’s safe to race on a sealed track will be determined by the track superintendent, and his determination must be approved unanimously by a three-person panel comprising the track’s assistant general manager, a representative of the Jockeys’ Guild, and a safety steward employed by the racing board.

Santa Anita’s track maintenance crew is led by Dennis Moore.

The document does not detail how much rain must fall for racing to be canceled, but stated racing cannot be conducted “until the track is deemed safe after an extreme precipitation event.”

“We gave you quite a bit of flexibility,” racing board chairman Greg Ferraro told Santa Anita officials.

“Mostly, I have to be honest with respecting the opinion and ability of Dennis Moore to deal with situations of inclement weather.

“I have to warn you – we can’t afford to have a repeat of last year. You know that as well as I do. If the policies agreed upon are not being followed, or (are) sliding into another problem situation, this board has the authority to step in and we will if we have to.

“If we follow the agreement here, we won’t have to.”

Last year, racing was halted for three weeks in March after a series of equine fatalities in February and early March. Southern California sustained more rain than usual in the early months of 2019. Racing on several days was conducted on sealed tracks.

During the track’s winter-spring meeting, which runs through June 21, Santa Anita has been ordered to eliminate 12 days of racing as one of the terms agreed upon between the racing board and the track as part of the licensing process of the race meeting. Track officials have not announced which days will be omitted.