Laurel Track Woes: Passero To Consult, Pimlico Move On Hold For Now

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (MTHA) and the management team at 1/ST Racing announced an agreement Tuesday morning that will allow for the MTHA's preferred track maintenance consultant, John Passero, to be retained to perform testing that will hopefully lead to the latest round of fixes in a years-long series of safety woes that have plagued Laurel Park's main dirt track.

The agreement, which was announced at an emergency meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) Apr. 25, put off for the time being any action by the commission that would have mandated shifting racing to Pimlico Race Course some 30 miles north in Baltimore. 1/ST Racing owns both tracks under the corporate name Maryland Jockey Club (MJC).

Five horses have had to be euthanized this month at Laurel, including two who raced there Apr. 20. After last Thursday's fatalities, 1/ST Racing initially announced that racing would be canceled indefinitely, then later tried to fill an Apr.27 card that was abandoned when horsemen withheld entries. Management has maintained that the track is safe, while the horsemen have disagreed, at one point calling the situation a “catastrophic emergency.”

Passero used to be the MJC's track superintendent several decades ago, and the horsemen had lobbied for his inclusion as a consultant during the winter of 2021-22, which was when the last significant spate of equine deaths occurred over the Laurel dirt.

At that time, a Maryland racing commissioner described Passero during a public meeting as having the confidence of “rank-and-file horsemen” while noting that Passero felt “frustrated” when his input as a consultant “was not being heeded” by track executives.

Both in the past and for the present problems, 1/ST Racing has relied upon its own consultants, most notably Dennis Moore, known for his longtime track superintendent work at Santa Anita Park, another track in 1/ST Racing's corporate portfolio.

Craig Fravel, 1/ST Racing's chief executive officer, told commissioners during Tuesday's meeting that the negotiations with horsemen yielded “basically an access agreement for the MTHA to retain their consultant, John Passero, to come to the racetrack to perform whatever tests [and] evaluations [that] he feels are necessary to inform himself and his client [that could lead to] possible improvements to the racing surface.”

Fravel noted that Passero will be employed by the MTHA, and that the exact scope of his work is not defined by the agreement. Whatever data Passero uncovers will then be analyzed by track management, the horsemen, and the commission to determine the next steps.

Tim Keefe, the president of the MTHA, said he expected Passero to begin work as soon as Wednesday, Apr. 26.

Alan Foreman, an attorney who represents the MTHA, said, “We'll collectively assess his findings. Any work that needs to be done, our hope is that it is a relatively quick fix, and that we will be back to racing as quickly as possible.”

Fravel was asked directly by a commissioner about the possibility of relocating the current Laurel meet to Pimlico, which is scheduled to race May 11-29 for its GI Preakness S. meet.

“We're going to approach all of these questions in good faith,” Fravel said. “We're not taking anything off the table, but we need to let this process unfold,” before having discussions about moving to Pimlico.

MRC chairman Michael Algeo made it clear that the commission's top priority is safety.

“Racing will not resume here until this commission says it can resume,” Algeo said. “This is uncharted territory for the commission. This was not a hearing that we anticipated. It's not a hearing that we wanted. But I have emphasized throughout my time as chairman and member of this commission that we needed cooperation, communication and compromise.

“We cannot afford to get this wrong. We have to get it right,” Algeo underscored.

Algeo noted that the MRC has a regularly scheduled monthly meeting for next Tuesday, May 2, at which it could take next steps, unless sooner action is warranted. Although his tone was generally terse, Algeo added that he was “optimistic” the testing and the fixes could proceed as swiftly as possible.

Pimlico hosted an extended meet through the summer of 2021 the last time Laurel's track needed extensive repairs.

After years of freeze/thaw and drainage troubles, Laurel's main track was in such bad shape in the spring of 2021 that Laurel ceased racing on it Apr. 11, 2021, to begin an emergency rebuild from the base up. The project was repeatedly delayed and had its scope expanded, and it ended up taking five months before racing could resume instead of the initially projected one month.

When racing resumed in September 2021, the main track had no apparent safety issues. But the onset of cold weather revealed problems with seams in the base of the homestretch, then the cushion atop that layer needed substantial reworking to give it more body and depth.

Eight horses died from fractures while racing or training over Laurel's main track between Oct. 3 and Nov. 28, 2021, leading to weeks-long halts in racing through early the winter of 2022.

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MJC Issues New Statement on Laurel, Racing will Resume

The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which cancelled racing this weekend after two fatalities at Laurel Park Thursday, issued a new statement late Saturday regarding the status of the Laurel surface.

The statement appears in full below:

The Maryland Jockey Club has cancelled its Thursday, Apr. 27 racing program at Laurel Park due to insufficient entries. The racing office will be open and taking entries Sunday for the Friday, Apr. 28 program.

We acknowledge the recent statements in the press regarding the safety of our racing surface. However, we want to emphasize that 1/ST Racing and the Maryland Jockey Club prioritize safety above all else, and continually engage in proactive analysis of our racing and training surfaces. To this end, we have engaged the services of Dennis Moore, a renowned industry expert, who has been conducting routine testing of the Laurel Park racing surface for the past three days. Dennis, along with independent engineering experts, have performed a comprehensive battery of tests during this time, to ensure the safety of our racing surface.

Particle size distribution via the following methods:

  • Laser diffraction
  • Sieve and hydrometer
  • Orono Biomechanical Surface Test (ASTM Standard F3400)
  • Peak Vertical Load
  • Peak Fore-Aft Load
  • Peak Vertical Deacceleration
  • Ground Penetrating Radar
  • Percentage surface crossfall
  • Bulk Density
  • X-ray diffraction
  • Base inspection

The results of these tests were all within industry norms. Based on these tests and their professional knowledge, our track experts have advised that there are no issues with the track and that it is safe to race and train.

In addition, Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, Director of Equine Safety and Welfare with HISA, has at our request reviewed Laurel's fatality data and stated, “I've reviewed the data provided to me this morning by the Maryland Racing Commission and find a racing fatality rate at Laurel of approximately 1.3/1,000 starts since January 1st. By comparison, the Equine Injury Database shows a rate of approximately 1.98/1,000 at this same point (through Apr. 21) last year.” As stated the current fatality rate has decreased from last year at the same point.

Even though the track surface is within industry standards certain Horseman have determined not to submit entries for this Thursday's racing card. Hopefully after reviewing the facts live racing will proceed.

We hope that all stakeholders will be able to come to a consensus and adopt the enhanced veterinary and safety protocols that have been implemented with great success in California. MJC has made repeated requests of the horsemen and are still waiting for their approval to be able to move forward with their implementation.

While we all know that catastrophic injuries will not be eliminated completely it is clear from the above that our track is not the issue, and we urge the Commission and the MTHA to take advantage of the proven enhancements to improve horse safety.

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With No Main Track Racing Fatalities in ’22, Santa Anita Continues to Make Strides on Safety

It's been some four years since Santa Anita suffered through some of the worst times in its long and otherwise glorious history, a prolonged period where horses were breaking down and dying at an alarming rate. Aidan Butler, the chief executive officer at The Stronach Group 1/ST Racing and Gaming, the corporation that owns Santa Anita, is still haunted by that period, so much so that he says he has nightmares about horses breaking down.

“It was horrific,” Butler said. “Can you imagine having bloody helicopters from the news stations flying over the track every time a horse was injured.”

Butler was relatively new to the job at the time, and a fresh perspective was helpful. While some were quick to tell him that the breakdowns were “part of the game,” he represented a management team that refused to accept what was happening and knew that Santa Anita may not survive unless they fixed the problem. So they went to work.

So when the field safely crossed the wire in the Dec. 31 Las Flores S., the last race of the year run on the main track, Butler could have been excused had he popped open a bottle of champagne. The year was over and not a single horse had suffered a fatal injury during a 2022 dirt race at Santa Anita.

“That's one of those things you hope for but it seems almost impossible,” said Dr. Dionne Benson, the chief veterinary officer for the Stronach Group. “I could not be more thrilled with the work done by everyone involved. And that is what has made all the difference.”

There was also plenty of good news last year at Del Mar. Not a single fatality occurred in a race during either of the 2022 Del Mar meets. There were two fatalities during fall racing, both were non-musculoskeletal and were classified as sudden death.  In 2019, the track experienced two deaths during races.

“Since we implemented a series of reforms four years ago, including enhanced training protocols and increased veterinary and track surface monitoring, Del Mar has been one of the safest tracks in the country for horse and rider,” said Del Mar President and COO Josh Rubinstein. “It is great to see similar progress throughout the state, though we know safety and welfare are ongoing and we need to stay vigilant.”

At Santa Anita, the numbers in 2019 were ugly. During the meet that began on Dec. 26, 2018 and ran through June 23, 2019, 30 horses died. And that was with Santa Anita shutting down for three weeks to try to get the problem under control. The media was relentless and every breakdown became a major story. Animal rights groups like PETA were putting immense pressure on Santa Anita and some were calling for racing to be shut down in the state.

“At the time it was a very angry place and everybody was pointing fingers at everyone else,” Butler said. “A lot of it was completely unnecessary. Nobody wants to see animals get injured. Its not good for anyone's business.  But 2019 gave us the ability to look at things differently because things had really gotten bad. Everybody understood that something had to change. Something had to give.  Horsemen, owners, trainers, everyone, understood that business as unusual will not fly anymore. The emphasis on safety had to be the core of the sport because without it the sport could be in jeopardy.”

The question became, what can be done? There will probably always be fatalities in racing, but can steps be taken to reduce the numbers significantly to the point where Santa Anita is no longer the most dangerous track in the country but one of the safest?

“Everything we do must have an emphasis on safety,” Butler said. “That's bandied around a lot and everybody likes to talk about safety and how they want the races to be safe. We had an opportunity in 2019, albeit after an awful situation, to really reset the clock and look at every aspect of how we operate at Santa Anita.”

So what they did was look at virtually every aspect of the sport and try to figure out how they could make things safer. While many factors were in play, the one that seems to have produced the most results was management's decree that horses had to constantly be under the microscope and constantly subjected to veterinary exams. In 2022, 5381 veterinary exams were conducted on 4,673 unique horses.

“If I could pick one thing that had made a difference is the vet-trainer inspection prior to a workout or a race,” said trainer Eoin Harty, the president of California Thoroughbred Trainers. “You're forced to stand there and watch your horse jog up and down the road with your vet. If there is any doubt whatsoever your vet isn't going to sign off on it because it's going to be on his head if something happens. They have to sign a book that says the horse is good and that information is turned into the racing office. All the checks and balances have to be in place.”

Benson said that trainers have learned not to attempt to race or work horses if they are having any problems that could lead to an injury.

“It's been an effort by the veterinarians that we have who work for Santa Anita as well as the private veterinarians,” Benson said. “We look very critically at horses to make sure they are ready to race. And the trainers are doing an excellent job of horsemanship and making good decisions for their horses.”

Harty said that while trainers don't like all aspects of the extra scrutiny they have come to understand that it is necessary.

“Initially, there was some push back,” he said. “But trainers in California realized at the time that we were in a dire situation and unless everybody got on board and started pulling with the same oar potentially we were going to be out of business. There is always resentment when there is a change like that but in general horsemen have come to embrace this. People can adapt very quickly when they have to.”

Management has also been extra cautious when it comes to the racing surface and hired Dennis Moore to be the track superintendent. Concerned that when there is too much moisture in the track problems could arise, Santa Anita will cancel when the weather gets to be a problem. That was the case over the last few days when racing was cancelled on both Saturday and Monday due to heavy rains in the area.

Butler said another factor has been a crackdown on the use of medications used to block or numb pain.

“We're making sure any horse out there isn't on any pain blocking medications,” he said. “With any athlete, if you have anything wrong, medications that block the pain is where larger problems can start.”

The numbers weren't perfect at Santa Anita in 2022. When turf racing, training on the main track, training on the training track and sudden deaths are included, there were 12 deaths at the track in 2022. While that's 12 too many, it represents a major decline from recent years. During the fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, there were 49 total deaths at Santa Anita.

Maybe there will come a time when 12 deaths seems like a lot, and the Santa Anita team has vowed to keep working to reduce the number to as a close to zero as a racetrack can come. In the meantime and after the situation had hit a rock-bottom level, it's not lost on anyone at Santa Anita how much better things have gotten.

“What happened in 2019 is that it opened up our eyes as to how we must make this sport safer,” Butler said. “Because if we didn't the sport was going to be in jeopardy and be in jeopardy quickly. Luckily for us, Belinda Stronach is not the sort of person to shy away from a battle. We engaged in what we thought was the only way to try to fix things and the numbers we see now speak for themselves. By fixing things the way we did I think we potentially saved the sport in California.”

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First Racetrack Maintenance Innovation Award Winners Announced

Edited Press Release

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) presented the Racetrack Maintenance Innovation Awards to its first class of award winners Monday evening at the Racecourse Managers' Conference and Workshop in Las Vegas. The award was created to celebrate the work of racetrack professionals who have day-to-day responsibilities for the maintenance, protection, and safety of horses and riders at tracks across the US. The 2022 winners distinguished themselves as some of the most innovative racetrack professionals in Thoroughbred racing today.

“It's so important to highlight the work of racetrack managers and operators because their work is critical to the success of Thoroughbred racing,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “I congratulate this first class of winners and thank each of them for their dedication to the safety and well-being of horses and riders.”

The 2022 winners are:

Leif Dickenson – Turf and Landscape Superintendent at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club – Nominated for his introduction of fibers in turf profiles at Santa Anita Park to improve the sheer strength of sand without the use of alternative fine materials that would impede drainage.

Joe King – posthumously awarded, former New York Racing Association (NYRA) Track Superintendent – Nominated for being the first person in racing to systematically include testing of the racing surfaces on a regular basis and for being a critical asset in designing racetrack surfaces.

Dennis Moore – Superintendent at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Santa Anita Racetrack, and Los Alamitos Thoroughbred Racing – Nominated for his innovative work that led to maintenance and operational innovations for the synthetic racetrack surfaces at Remington Park and Hollywood Park, and for his work to consistently evaluate new technologies including fiber and new maintenance equipment for dirt and synthetic surfaces.

Nominations for the 2023 Racetrack Maintenance Innovation Awards will be open beginning Oct. 1, 2022. For more information, visit NTRA.com.

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