Horse Racing Resumes At Santa Anita Race Track, No Fans Allowed

ARCADIA, CA — Santa Anita Park will resume live racing Friday —without spectators—for the first time in nearly two months, with the blessing of the county Department of Public Health.

The Arcadia racetrack had been closed for live racing since March 27 in accordance with orders from the health department in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. The track announced Wednesday that it had been cleared by the county to resume horse racing.

There will be nine races Friday, with 97 horses entered. The first post time is 12:30 p.m. The races will be streamed on www.Xpressbet.com, www.tvg.com, and www.CalRacing.com. Bets can be made on all three sites.

Protocols that will be in place include mandatory face masks, daily health screenings including temperature checks, mandatory "social distancing" while on the property, increased sanitation procedures, the creation of a "restricted zone" housing jockeys, valets and other essential personnel who must have a negative COVID-19 test to access, and pre-race protocol to increase physical distancing, according to Santa Anita officials.

Despite not hosting live racing since March 22, a week before the Los Angeles Department of Health ordered the track to close due to the coronavirus pandemic, four horses have died at the Santa Anita race track since, including a 4-year-old gelding, which died during training on Sunday.

In Orange County, meanwhile, eight horses have died at Los Alamitos – the only track in the state to remain open despite operating as a non-essential business during the pandemic.

As at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos reported the death of a horse during training on Sunday – the 13th horse to die since December. Tailback, the gelding who required euthanasia at Santa Anita, was the 14th horse to die at the track since the start of the season.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo spoke on the ban lifting, and voiced her discontent.

"Now that gambling has been prioritized over public health, the death toll—for horses and humans—must not rise," Guillermo said. "Horses died during training at Santa Anita Park even after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health had suspended racing. If another Thoroughbred is killed, racing should be ended for equine health, regardless of COVID-19."

Early last month, representatives of Santa Anita Race Track pleaded with health officials to allow live racing to resume.

"Simply put, by ceasing live racing operations, we are jeopardizing the income stream for backstretch employees (racehorse caregivers) and the financial resources required to provide them and the horses they love with the care they both deserve," Belinda Stronach, the chairman and president of The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Park, stated in an open letter April 2.

Jockeys set to ride Friday include Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to the Triple Crown in 2015.

Racing is also be held at four other major tracks — Los Alamitos Race Course in Orange County, Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Gulfstream Park in South Florida.

Santa Anita has been under a microscope since 37 horses died in racing or training incidents during the 2018-19 season, causing many animal rights activists to call for an end to the sport in California.

A months-long investigation by state regulators in 2019 found no evidence of illegal medications or procedures, but determined most of the horses had "pre-existing pathology," according to a report by the California Horse Racing Board.

Horses have continued to die at the track during the shutdown.

Tailback, a 4-year-old gelding, died Sunday after a training accident, making him the 14th horse to die in racing or training-related incidents at Santa Anita this season, which began in late December.

Aidan Butler, executive director of California racing operations for TSG, said the organization wanted to thank its stakeholders, including the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Thoroughbred Trainers, the Jockeys Guild, its team at Santa Anita Park and fans for their patience during the pandemic.

"This has been a difficult time for all. Now we are focused on getting back to work in a safe and secure manner," Butler said, noting that the organization was "very grateful for the open and continuous communication with both the Health Department and (County) Supervisor Kathryn Barger's office."

City News Service, Patch editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report