By Bloodhorse.com
ARCADIA, Calif. (Mar. 9, 2019) — On a day that was supposed to feature the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), San Felipe Stakes (G2), and Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T), Santa Anita Park instead was the site March 9 of another extended morning of conditioning on the training track. The California racing industry was trying to grapple with the ramifications of the indefinite cancellation of racing at Santa Anita as the closed main track continued to undergo testing.
Trainers sent horses to the training track throughout the morning, with training hours expanded until 11 a.m. PT. Only jogging and galloping was allowed. Later in the day, Santa Anita announced that the main track will reopen for “limited training” March 11 at 5 a.m. for joggers and gallopers only, with workouts likely to resume “in the coming days.”
“Over the past four days, we’ve been able to do a great deal in terms of amending the soil and inspecting it,” said Dennis Moore, the former Santa Anita track superintendent brought back as a consultant in the wake of 21 Thoroughbred deaths during racing or training since the meet started Dec. 26. “I think the most important thing with this track right now is that we closely monitor compaction levels. With all the rain, and this is the case in any wet winter, the ‘fines,’ silt and sand, can change very quickly, and that affects the clays as well.”
Some horses shipped to Los Alamitos Race Course, 35 miles away, for workouts Saturday. Jerry Hollendorfer worked Sham Stakes (G3) winner Gunmetal Gray six furlongs in 1:12 3/5 and sent multiple graded winner Kanthaka through the same distance in 1:12 1/5. Bob Baffert worked stakes-winning Mother Mother four furlongs in :46 1/5, best of 23 at the distance, and sent grade 1 winner Marley’s Freedom to drill six furlongs in 1:11. Jeff Bonde worked San Vicente Stakes (G2) winner Sparky Ville five furlongs in 1:04 4/5, and Richard Mandella worked Omaha Beach and Extra Hope six furlongs in 1:10 3/5 and 1:12, respectively.
Baffert is expected to work Game Winner, the champion juvenile of 2018, and Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity (G1) winner Improbable Sunday at Los Alamitos. He has not announced where the two, ranked a respective third and 13th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, will run next in light of the Santa Anita developments.
According to a Los Angeles Times story posted March 8, the San Felipe, a key race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, will not be contested in 2019.
Game Winner, Gunmetal Gray, Improbable, Omaha Beach, and Extra Hope have all been nominated to the March 16 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, a race that may be split into divisions and drew 82 nominations when it closed Friday.
That was also the day Santa Anita management announced an extensive set of new safety protocols. Those include trainers having to apply for permission to work a horse at least 24 hours in advance so track veterinarians could assist in identifying “at risk” horses. Santa Anita also reserved the first 15 minutes of training after the main track opens and following each renovation break for horses working. A new Santa Anita “house rule” will mandate that the veterinary records of a horse follow that horse through any trainer or ownership change.
About 100 trainers met in the Santa Anita backstretch kitchen with their California Thoroughbred Trainers representatives Saturday morning to discuss the new protocols.
“The mood was very serious,” said Alan Balch, executive director of CTT. “I can’t speak for the TOC (Thoroughbred Owners of California), but I believe that neither of the horsemen’s groups were directly or indirectly involved in developing these programs. But we are in favor of doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of the horses, as we always have been. We fully support all reasonable measures to do these things.”
Trainers at the meeting had several questions, comments, and suggestions about the protocol implementations. Balch said he hoped to meet with Santa Anita management soon to suggest improvements.
“The medical records aspect, I think, is going to need a lot of work,” said Balch, “because veterinary law and rules are state by state. Things that are administratively and legally possible in Florida may not be possible here. In California, the owners have certain responsibilities. There are certain privacy issues.”
Another question is whether the protocols would apply to tracks such as Los Alamitos or the San Luis Rey Downs training center. Both facilities are part of the approved stabling areas for Santa Anita.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association issued a statement Saturday from Alex Waldrop, NTRA president and CEO, on the new protocols.
“The enhanced safety measures and protocols being undertaken by Santa Anita are among the most progressive in all of horse racing,” Waldrop said. “We applaud track officials for taking these important steps, which will lead to a safer racing environment for humans and equines.”