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23rd Horse Death At Santa Anita Park Prompts Calls For State Investigation Into Calif. Horse Racing

Screenshot KTLA 5 Los Angeles

ARCADIA (CNS) - Animal rights activists are calling for the governor to form a panel to investigate training and veterinary practices at California race tracks after another racehorse died at Santa Anita Park, the 23rd equine death at the facility since Dec. 26.
   Arms Runner, a 5-year-old horse who won his last race at the park on Jan. 27, suffered a severe and ultimately fatal injury to his right front leg in Sunday's Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes on turf, resulting in a  two-horse spill.
   The trailing horse, La Sardane, fell but was quickly on her feet, the Daily Racing Forum reported. The spill occurred just as the horses were about to re-enter the turf portion of the course that starts at the top of a hillside and has a crossover point on dirt.

   ``Arms Runner sustained a fatal injury during the San Simeon Stakes
(Sunday),'' Mike Willman, representing Santa Anita, said in a statement. ``He
was racing over the 6-furlong hillside turf course (Sunday) afternoon when at
the dirt crossing, he fell and collided with another horse, La Sardane. La
Sardane, was walked back to her barn under her own power with no reported
injuries. Both jockeys, Martin Pedroza, who rode Arms Runner and Ruben Fuentes,
who rode La Sardane, were examined by on-site medical experts and released from
First Aid.
   ``While this incident happened during competition on a track that has
been deemed by independent experts to be safe, we are working closely with the
California Horse Racing Board to understand if there was anything additional
that we could have done to prevent (Sunday's) tragedy. (Sunday's) incident
speaks to the larger issue of catastrophic injuries in horse racing that The
Stronach Group together with our industry stakeholders are working to solve
throughout California and across the country.''
   Arms Runner was trained by Peter Miller and owned by Rockingham Ranch.
He had made $124,941 in 12 starts before Sunday.
   People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a statement
following the horse death:
   ``Over the past two weeks, Thoroughbred owners and trainers and the
California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) have argued about medications, whipping,
and the public perception of horse racing. But they did not take every measure
needed to protect the horses. Both horses (who went down) ran on the drug
Lasix, which is known to cause dehydration and electrolyte loss,' PETA Senior
Vice President Kathy Guillermo said. 'All drugs need to be banned entirely, and
the known-safest racing surface -- a synthetic track -- must be used.
Furthermore, PETA calls on Governor Newsom to urgently form an independent
panel to investigate the training and veterinary practices in California
racing, including the use of bisphosphonates and other medications that
reportedly have been used indiscriminately. If the CHRB does not take every
possible action to protect the horses, then racing should not be allowed to
continue.''
   Racing had just resumed Friday at the famed Arcadia track, one day
after the California Horse Racing Board approved restrictions on certain
medications administered to the animals. The track was closed for most of this
month while officials inspected the track and formulated the new regulations.
   The CHRB approved previously announced proposals to strictly limit the
use of anti-inflammatory medications on horses. It also approved a much-
discussed 50 percent reduction in the allowable amount of Lasix, a diuretic
that helps prevent horses from hemorrhaging. Santa Anita officials had
initially proposed a ban on Lasix, but struck a compromise with the
Thoroughbred Owners of California and the California Thoroughbred Trainers
calling for a 50 percent reduction in allowable dosage.
   Santa Anita officials previously announced a series of other measures
being implemented to help bolster safety of the horses, including:
   -- Complete transparency of all veterinary records;
   -- Trainers must apply for permission to work a horse (a timed, high-
speed training exercise) at least 48 hours in advance;
   -- No therapeutic medications of treatments will be allowed without a
qualified veterinary diagnosis from a state licensed veterinarian;
   -- Significant and strict out-of-competition testing;
   -- Increasing the time required for horses to be on-site prior to a
race; and
   -- A substantial investment by The Stronach Group in diagnostic
equipment to aid in the early detection of pre-existing conditions.
   Those measures, however, did not prevent animal-advocacy groups from
protesting the resumption of racing at Santa Anita, who point to the dangers
they say are inherent in the sport.
   Between December and February of the previous year, 10 horses died at
Santa Anita, compared with eight in 2016-17 and 14 in 2015-16. The track
averaged about 50 deaths per year from 2008-18, according to data from the
CHRB.
   The unusually large amount of rain that has fallen over the Southland
this winter has been mentioned as a possible factor in explaining the surge in
deaths.
   Former track superintendent Dennis Moore and Mick Peterson of Racing
Services Testing Lab were brought in to conduct a thorough analysis of the main
track, and officials repeatedly said they found no problems.

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