Track put under microscope in wake of deaths

ARCADIA, Calif. – The main track at Santa Anita remained fully closed for training for a second consecutive day on Wednesday as track maintenance crews and experts continued to study the surface after an alarming spate of equine fatalities. Through Monday, there had been 19 fatalities in racing and training at Santa Anita since the meet began on Dec. 26.

The main track closed earlier than normal on Monday and was not used for training Tuesday or Wednesday. The track announced Tuesday afternoon that there would be no training on Wednesday.

Training was scheduled to resume Thursday morning on the main track, with racing scheduled for the afternoon. On Tuesday and Wednesday morning, horses were exercised on the infield training track.

Studies have focused on the integrity of the base and what effect extensive rain in recent weeks has had on the surface, according to Tim Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, Santa Anita’s parent company.

Mick Peterson, director of the University of Kentucky’s Agricultural Equine Program, was scheduled to study the compaction of the base on Wednesday, Ritvo said.

“We want to see how much compression has occurred,” Ritvo said. “So far, so good. We’ve found no real problems. We’re waiting for some tests to come back on some material. The idea is to look at the soil and see if the rain has caused runoff.”

Peterson is a regular consultant at Santa Anita, which Ritvo said allows for comparisons of how the material of the race surface has changed, if at all.

“We’ve been testing material monthly, and he has something to compare it with,” Ritvo said. “We’ve seen no erosion to the base or washouts.”

According to data provided by the California Horse Racing Board, there have been six fatalities in races on dirt, five in races on turf, and eight sustained by horse training on dirt in the two months since the meet started. By comparison, there were 37 fatalities during racing and training at Santa Anita for the fiscal year from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, according to the racing’s board annual report published earlier this month.

Peterson is working with track superintendent Andy LaRocco. LaRocco has worked in track maintenance at Santa Anita for several years and took on a wider role at the start of this year when Dennis Moore left his position as a consultant on the track surface. Moore remains involved in the maintenance of racing surfaces at Del Mar and Los Alamitos.

Southern California has had more rain than usual this winter. Santa Anita has had more than 11 inches of rain this month, the track said in a statement last weekend.

“We’ve had a different climate,” Ritvo said. “You have years like this when the weather does not go our way. We have to handle it.”

Ritvo called on owners and trainers to be vigilant about the condition of their horses as a resumption of training on the main track draws closer.

“In the end, we can only control the track surface,” he said. “We’re all in this together. We’ll be more cautious and see what we can do.”

Conditions were fine for training on Wednesday morning, with partly cloudy skies. Rain is expected from late Friday into Saturday.