For the second time in as many months, California Senator Dianne Feinstein has called for a suspension of racing at Santa Anita in reaction to a series of equine fatalities at the track. In a five-paragraph statement released on Monday, Feinstein called for an “immediate moratorium on racing at Santa Anita.” “We need a thorough investigation of practices and conditions at the track before any more races are held,” the statement read in part. California Horse Racing Board officials exchanged emails with Feinstein’s staff on Tuesday. Arrangements were being made on Wednesday for a telephone call with Feinstein by early next week to provide the senator with an update on measures implemented to improve horse safety at Santa Anita, racing board chairman Chuck Winner said. “Hopefully, things will go forward,” Winner said in an interview. Winner said Feinstein’s office alerted the racing board on Monday that a statement would be released. Winner said Feinstein’s office has had representatives at recent racing board meetings, including one held at Santa Anita on May 23. Santa Anita officials did not return a phone call seeking comment. Santa Anita raced on Monday and is not scheduled to resume racing until Friday. There are 12 remaining days of racing scheduled for the track’s season, which runs through June 23. Winner said there have been “ongoing discussions” about the possibility of suspending the Santa Anita meeting. Los Alamitos is scheduled to open a three-week meeting on June 27. Legislation has been introduced in Sacramento this spring that would give the racing board the authority to suspend racing at a venue “to protect the health and safety of horses and riders.” Senate Bill 469 would allow the racing board to convene an emergency meeting of at least four commissioners with as little as one-hour public notice to discuss a possible suspension of racing. On May 23, the board agreed to send a letter of support to the state legislature for SB 469. On May 22, a group of racing officials and horsemen met with a legislative committee to discuss ongoing safety reforms. On Monday, Feinstein expressed concern about three fatalities in a nine-day period from May 17 to Sunday. Last Saturday, the 9-year-old gelding Kochees suffered a leg injury in a race at Santa Anita. He was euthanized on Sunday after an effort to save him failed. In early April, Feinstein wrote a letter to Winner calling for a suspension of racing until “the cause or causes” of 23 fatalities since late December “can be fully investigated.” The number of fatalities has risen to 26. Santa Anita had a period of more than six weeks – from April 1 to May 16 – with no fatalities during racing or training until Commander Coil suffered a fatal shoulder injury while galloping on May 17. In her statement released on Monday, Feinstein called for greater scrutiny of medications and the number of times horses race. In conclusion, she questioned the viability of the sport under current conditions. “I believe we need to carefully review what medications horses are given and under what circumstances, as well as take a close look at the issue of overrunning horses, which may be contributing to deaths “Tracks in the United States have significantly higher rates of death than tracks overseas,” the statement concluded. “We need to determine what we’re doing wrong in this country and fix it. If we can’t we need to consider whether horseracing has a future here.” Santa Anita suspended racing for 13 days in March to inspect and renovate the main track after a series of equine fatalities in late February and early March. Through March, the track implemented restrictions on what horses were allowed to train or race before racing resumed on March 29. The restrictions included lower dosages of the anti-bleeder medication Lasix, a suspension of authorized thresholds on legal therapeutic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and an increase in out-of-competition testing. “The reforms that are being made – in the long run – are beneficial to racing,” Winner said on Tuesday.