Three days after one of the most scenic racetracks in the world reopened, another horse died at Santa Anita Park, the 23rd equine fatality at the California track in just over three months.
Arms Runner, a five-year-old gelding, injured his right front leg in a fall during the grade 3 San Simeon Stakes race on turf on Sunday (local time), causing La Sardane, a 5-year-old mare, to fall. La Sardane was apparently unhurt and the race continued, with Law Abidin Citizen winning. However, Arms Runner was taken off in a van and euthanised, according to track stewards. The horse had won three times in 13 races, earning $US125,292, according to Equibase figures.
The Santa Anita racetrack has recorded 23 equine fatalities in the past three months.Credit:AP
"While this incident happened during competition on a track that has been deemed by independent experts to be safe," Santa Anita said in a statement, "we are working closely with the [California Horse Racing Board] to understand if there was anything additional that we could have done to prevent [the] tragedy."
Racing at the track had resumed on Friday after it was stopped on March 3 for an investigation into the previous deaths. The main dirt course, where most of the deaths since December 26 had occurred, was subjected to a number of tests, with no conclusive explanation for fatalities that drew national attention, from animal rights groups and others. Heavy rain was considered as a potential factor; the Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita, also announced a reduction in the amount of Lasix, an antibleeding medication, that horses can be given on race days. That went into effect when the track reopened on Friday. In addition, a proposal to eliminate the use of whips is under consideration.
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Since the day after Princess Lili B became the 22nd fatality at Santa Anita on March 14, when she broke both front legs in training and was euthanised, there have been 2483 timed workouts without a life-threatening incident. There were no incidents in Friday's racing when 62 horses ran or on Saturday when 84 raced. Sunday's incident was in the fourth of a nine-race card.
The most recent incident happened on an unusual grass setup that begins at the top of a hill, turns slightly to the right and has an 80-foot dirt crossing over the track before it returns to grass. Arms Runner, according to the Los Angeles Times, was just a few strides from reaching the grass when he fell.
Ten of the fatalities have occurred during training on the main dirt surface. There have been seven deaths racing on the dirt. This would make the sixth fatality during a turf race.
The timing of the latest death presents yet another big problem for the track, with workouts resuming on Monday and races on Thursday. Looming Saturday is the biggest day of the meeting, with the $1 million Santa Anita Derby, featuring potential Kentucky Derby contenders, and the $US400,000 Santa Anita Oaks for three-year-old fillies. In addition, the $US600,000 Santa Anita HandicaRead More – Source
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