LOS ANGELES _ Santa Anita and the Thoroughbred Owners of California reached an agreement Saturday that could pave the way for the track to open as soon as Friday. Santa Anita has been closed since March 5 after a dramatic rise in horse deaths, which is now up to 22 since Dec. 26.
While both sides have agreed to changes on medication rules, there is still the issue of getting the deal approved by the California Horse Racing Board. There is a CHRB meeting Thursday, but the medication changes were not listed on the docket and did not meet a 10-day public notification period.
The earliest a special meeting could be held would be March 28, according to Rick Baedeker, executive director of the CHRB. Baedeker said that Chuck Winner, CHRB chairman, is in favor of a special meeting as soon as legally possible.
"Whatever rules that can be in place legally, will be in place, but some (that are not yet legal) will not," said Greg Avioli, president and CEO of the TOC, as to a possible Friday restart date. However, Santa Anita has made no public statement confirming the rules agreement or when racing might resume.
Initially, all race-day Lasix was to be prohibited under a proposal by the Stronach Group, which owns and operates Santa Anita. But the compromise position is that it will be applied only to 2018 foals, or horses that won't race until next year. Horses currently on Lasix will be allowed to continue to receive the medication on race day but in a maximum dosage of 5 cubic centimeters, instead of the 10cc currently allowed.
Race-day Lasix "far and away was the biggest topic of conversation from top to finish," Avioli said of the compromise. "But it was unanimously approved by the TOC board. And we had a call of 250 TOC members and no one objected to it."
There also will be changes in claiming races at Santa Anita. It will eliminate claiming races below $10,000 and eliminate maiden claims for $16,000 and $20,000. There are no changes of a similar kind at Golden Gate Fields, also run by the Stronach Group. Those horses could leave Santa Anita for Golden Gate.
Another change agreed upon by the trainers is that Butazolidin, used commonly to reduce pain and inflammation, can now only be given 48 hours before a race instead of 24 hours.
Many of California's medication rules exceed those internationally. However, almost all countries outside of the U.S. do not allow race-day medication, such as Lasix. Last year, only 3.6 percent of horses in the U.S. started without Lasix.
"Our members want to get back to racing and we thought this was a compromise that was worth endorsing," said Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. "Nobody involved in these negotiations got everything they wanted. But we're pleased reasonable people got together and reached an agreement that we can endorse going forward."
On the call with TOC members, Avioli said that there were 140 horses ready to leave California this weekend if racing did not soon resume in Southern California.
"I believe that once we realized collectively what was at risk for not doing a deal, we made a deal," Avioli said. "It was pretty clear the track was not reopening if there wasn't and people were ready to leave the state."
One rule that possibly could be in effect Friday is not allowing jockeys the use of the whip unless for safety reasons. Currently a jockey can use the whip three times in succession before having to allow the horse a chance to respond. It's possible that stewards could regulate that rule, but, again, nobody is sure exactly what can be done.
At Thursday's CHRB meeting there is an agenda item about Santa Anita's stoppage of racing and the equine fatalities, but it's unknown if new items can be bundled into that discussion.
