Seven horses die in less than a month at Santa Anita racetrack
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Our colleague Bill Dwyre reports that a total of seven horses have been euthanized as a result of injuries occurring during racing or training at the Santa Anita track since the meet’s opening day Dec. 26.
Two horses, Twisted Lyric and Uta’s Beauty, were injured during training sessions last Sunday and euthanized, according to Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board. From Dwyre’s article:
Arthur said that Twisted Lyric was on the Veterinarian’s List, which means that the horse had been determined to be unfit to race and must prove physical soundness before being allowed back. Twisted Lyric had never won a race and had made only one start, 27 months ago. Uta’s Beauty was on a different list, the Steward’s List, which shows those horses ineligible to start a race because of poor or inconsistent performances. Uta’s Beauty was put on the Steward’s List after finishing 12 1/2 lengths behind the next-to-last horse and another 15 lengths behind the third-to-last finisher.
The Santa Anita track’s synthetic surface has presented problems since its introduction two years ago, when the California Horse Racing Board mandated the state’s major racetracks replace their dirt surfaces, according to the Associated Press.
The synthetic surface, manufactured by a company called Pro-Ride, was adjusted earlier this month following the earlier incidents of horse injury. Eric Sondheimer explained:
‘We didn’t find anything we thought was too wrong, but we did find the track’s density was higher than we liked,’ [Ian Pearse, managing director for Pro-Ride] said. ‘Can I attribute that to injuries? It’s hard to determine....’ Pearse said cold weather combined with rain probably changed the track, but he expressed confidence in the maintenance procedures, which will include a daily routine in which crews will use a device to determine the surface’s firmness. ‘The top of the surface was fine, but underneath, we’re not sure if it was firmer or harder or inconsistent,’ he said.
But these adjustments were made prior to the deaths of Twisted Lyric and Uta’s Beauty. Another horse, Spenditallbaby, was injured during a race today.
Are you concerned about this spate of racehorse deaths and injuries? Do you think the track surface should be changed? Let us know in the comments.
--Lindsay Barnett