From CHRB
DEL MAR, Calif. (Aug. 22, 2025) — The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting Thursday, August 21, in Del Mar. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, and Peter Stern.
The audio of this entire Board meeting will be available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcastlink, accessed through the Media Room tab. At this moment, technical difficulties are delaying this posting. In brief:
- The Board approved the license for the Los Alamitos Racing Association to conduct a thoroughbred meet running from September 12 through September 21. However, Chairman Ferraro cautioned that Los Alamitos has not done a good enough job to protect quarter horses that run there. He said the safety record with thoroughbreds has been much improved from last year, but not with quarter horses. He asked Dr. Jeff Blea, the CHRB equine medical director, to elaborate on that point.
Dr. Blea agreed with Chairman Ferraro that there remains a cultural problem in the quarter-horse industry, specifically related to intra-articular therapies. The issue is the multiple intra-articular treatments that are performed on horses participating in both trials and finals in the industry nationwide. He said the practice of injecting without a clinical diagnosis is a problem within the quarter-horse industry, not just at Los Alamitos, but he added that Los Alamitos is probably doing a better job than most other quarter-horse locations. “Los Alamitos is doing better, but needs to go further. Records indicate that these treatments are preceded by a thorough and in-depth clinical exam. Any intra-articular treatment must also be based on a diagnosis,” he said.
In his report, Dr. Blea also announced that the latest positron emission technology has been installed at the Southern California Equine Foundation imaging center at Santa Anita, allowing for improved detection of injuries.
As for the approved meet, Los Alamitos sometimes runs thoroughbreds in the day immediately followed by its longstanding quarter-horse racing at night. The thoroughbred programs will be conducted on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
- The Board approved the license for the Los Angeles Turf Club II to conduct a thoroughbred meet at Santa Anita Park that will operate from September 26 through October 26 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, plus Monday, October 13. This meet leads into the Breeders’ Cup, which will be conducted at Del Mar on October 31 and November 1, and the stakes program is designed to accommodate Breeders’ Cup hopefuls.
During this discussion, Vice Chair Gonzales expressed concern to Santa Anita officials that 2024 revisions to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points system at Churchill Downs can place California horses at a disadvantage because some of the major stakes races in California have shorter fields that diminish award points. He urged racing officials to do what they can to bolster the chances of California horses. As a starter, Santa Anita General Manager Nate Newby said they would consider raising the purse of the Santa Anita Derby in order to attract more horses to that race.
- The Board approved a change to the Xpressbet (ADW) plan of operation to, among other things, permit its new venue and wagering application, Everi, to offer wagering on live races.
- The Board extended the age restriction for racing to workouts. Just as in racing, no thoroughbred or quarter horse above the age of 10 can work out, while the cutoff for standardbreds is above 14.
- The Board amended Rule 1699 giving stewards greater discretion in their assessment of penalties for riding infractions.
- The Board approved three nominees to the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation’s Board of Directors: Stephanie Hronis, Ken Smole, and Millie Yakteen.
- Extensive public comments at the meeting can be heard on the audio archive for this meeting.
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