The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Thursday, September 24. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, and Wendy Mitchell.
The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:
- Chairman Ferraro and others welcomed Commissioner Davis to her first meeting since her August 26 appointment to the Board by Governor Gavin Newsom.
- The Board approved license applications for four race meets, all of which are scheduled to be run without fans in attendance due to COVID-19 and under strict protocols established by local health officials designed to protect all racing participants. As approved:
- The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will run its fall meet beginning October 31 through November 29 with mostly three-day racing weeks, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
- Watchandwager.com will run a harness meet at Cal Expo beginning November 21 through December 19 with mostly two-day racing weeks, Fridays and Saturdays.
- Pacific Racing Association II will run an extended thoroughbred meet at Golden Gate Fields (GGF) due to the reallocation of race dates that have been relinquished by the Big Fresno Fair. The additional two weeks extend the current race meet to October 18.
- After the conclusion of the current meet, including the additional dates relinquished by the Big Fresno Fair, Pacific Racing Association will run a separate thoroughbred meet at GGF beginning October 22 through December 13, all four-day race weeks, Thursday through Sunday.
- The Board approved agreements between the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the racing secretaries at GGF and Del Mar regarding entry conditions limiting specific drug substances for entered horses.
- Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director, advised he was in constant contact with management at Los Alamitos, GGF, and Del Mar and with safety personnel at those locations pertaining to heat conditions and also air quality issues created by widespread fires.
- There were no heat-related problems with horses during the recent heat wave throughout California, but air quality conditions caused a major reduction in training and also prompted GGF to cancel one weekend of racing. Santa Anita postponed the start of its fall meet by one week to September 25.
- Dr. Arthur stressed the relationship between racehorse injury and rider safety, an issue he raised due to the serious injuries sustained by jockey Vinnie Bednar. He reminded the Board that research at the University of California, Davis, confirmed the relationship between horse injury and jockey injury and noted that a video on Racing Injury Prevention can be viewed on the CHRB website. He also advised that a GoFundMe account has been established for Bednar ( https://gf.me/u/yvswsm ).
- Executive Director Scott Chaney reported serious concerns with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act that is moving swiftly through Congress. These concerns were echoed by some commissioners. Chaney said safety rules and protocols in California are the strictest in the nation. Therefore, national standards, as called for in HISA, may actually be less strict.
- Chaney reminded everyone that a revised rule governing use of the riding crop will go into effect October 1. The CHRB issued a news release earlier on this subject. He also noted improvements to the CHRB website pertaining to the listing of equine fatalities and a list of reforms that are either completed or in process for the protection of horses and riders.
- For continuity purposes, the Board temporarily suspended through December 25 the new rule prohibiting Lasix in 2-year-olds, which will only impact quarter horses.
- In compliance with a procedural matter raised by the Office of Administrative Law, the Board re-approved a rule strictly limiting the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on racehorses.
- The Board suspended Rule 1845(h), which required syringes used to administer Lasix on race day be retained. An amendment permanently eliminating the requirement will be heard in October.
- In two separate but related actions, the Board authorized Los Alamitos to distribute a total of $26,580 in race day charity proceeds to four beneficiaries.
- The Board authorized Los Alamitos Equine Horse Sale, LLC, to conduct horse sales at Los Alamitos on October 3 and 4.
Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website
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