One of horse racing’s most celebrated tracks, Santa Anita Park in Southern California, stated on Thursday that it might ban the use of drugs and whips on racing days after the loss of life of another horse there, the twenty-second for the reason that Dec. 26, an unusual spate that has confused investigators.
Santa Anita, a few miles east of Pasadena, Calif., will be the first racetrack in the state to impose such restrictions. This is an attempt to restore public self-belief in a recreation that has long struggled with drug and protection issues.
Track officials did now not say they’d pinpointed the reason for the deaths, but capsules and whips are a number of the factors under exam. Track situations and chillier and rainier weather than usual have also been under inspection. It is doubtful whether the brand new guidelines will be practiced in different racetracks owned via the Stronach Group, including Gulfstream Park in South Florida and Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, the Preakness Stakes house.
“What has taken place at Santa Anita over a previous couple of weeks is past heartbreaking,” the corporation stated in an announcement. “It is unacceptable to the public and, as folks that deeply love horses, unacceptable to all of us at the Stronach Group and Santa Anita.” “The sport of horse racing,” it persevered, “is the last great wearing legacy platform to be modernized. We must boost our requirements if we anticipate our recreation to grow for future generations.”
Santa Anita, called the Great Race Place, has held more than one Breeders’ Cup World Championship and is scheduled to host the event once more this 12 months on Nov. 1 and a pair. Breeders’ Cup officers have now been unavailable to comment on whether that is still the case. The restrictions were created on Thursday after the death of the filly Princess Lili B. It changed into the second day, and horses were returned at the tune after racing was suspended in the final week, so the government should re-observe it.
Princess Lili B broke each of the front legs even as education. As is common after such accidents with horses, she was euthanized. The 22 deaths on account that Dec. 26 are more than the whole variety of deaths, 20 over 122 racing days, in 2017, in step with Jockey Club information. The track has been shut down twice in the past 12 months and has been suspended for racing.
The music’s policy changes came after an invoice, the Horseracing Integrity Act of 2019, turned into Congress introduced on Thursday using Representatives Paul Tonko, Democrat of New York, and Andy Barr, Republican of Kentucky. The invoice might create a private, independent authority, the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority, accountable for developing and administering a nationwide anti-doping and medicine management program for horse racing.
The industry has resisted such adjustments for decades, and Santa Anita’s spike in fatalities again placed the game’s lack of significant oversight in the highlight. The Stronach Group, underneath stress from animal rights businesses and horse running shoes, apparently had little desire but to take drastic measures to deflect blame. “We will wait now, not for the enterprise to come back together as one to institute those adjustments,” the agency’s declaration stated. “Nor do we watch for the rules required to undertake this paradigm shift. We are taking a stand and fully recognize how disruptive this is.”
