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Report: Baffert Trainees Have The Highest Death Rate In California

A total of 74 horses in the care of trainer Bob Baffert have died since the year 2000, according to records compiled by the Washington Post and released in a lengthy article on Friday. When factoring in the number of races run, Baffert trainees have died at the highest rate of the 10 California trainers with the highest number of equine fatalities: 8.30 deaths per 1,000 starters.

(Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, banned from racing at tracks owned by the Stronach Group, including Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in California, has a rate of 6.25 deaths per 1,000 starts.)

Baffert faced regulatory scrutiny once for that high death rate, in 2013, when a seventh horse from his barn suddenly dropped dead for no apparent reason. Dr. Rick Arthur, the California Horse Racing Board's equine medical director, opened an official investigation into Baffert's operation.

Washington Post investigative reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts points out that around the time that Arthur was putting together the report on Baffert, a state legislator who formerly worked for Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) board member Dennis Cardoza (who co-owned a horse trained by Baffert) had filed legislation to put a term limit on the equine medical director position that Arthur was holding.

Baffert is also a board member of the TOC, and his racing stable donated $1,000 to the TOC's political action committee the previous August.

Arthur eventually ruled that while Baffert was treating every horse in his stable with a thyroid medication without veterinary prescription, that was not the cause of the sudden deaths. Arthur's report delivered in November of 2013 indicates he found no explanation for the sudden deaths in Baffert's barn, and that while “something under his control is associated with these fatalities,” regulators cannot act without evidence of rule violations.

Two months after Arthur officially cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died.

Breeders’ Cup To Expand U.K. Coverage Of 2021 World Championships

Breeders' Cup announced Friday expanded plans for broadcast coverage of the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships in the U.K. and Ireland, with ITV, Sky Sports Racing and Racing TV all set to deliver live television and digital broadcast coverage from the event to be held at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. Nov. 5 and 6, 2021.

“The Breeders' Cup World Championships is a truly international event and fans around the world deserve increased access to and in-depth coverage of the world's most talented horses, jockeys, and trainers,” said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming. “ITV, Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing are wonderful partners and we look forward to working with them to expand coverage of this world-class event for racing fans in the U.K and Ireland.”

ITV

Breeders' Cup will enjoy unprecedented exposure from ITV, which is the biggest commercial broadcast network in the U.K. and the home of terrestrial horseracing. ITV have held the terrestrial horseracing rights since 2017 and during that time have effectively doubled the racing audience in the U.K., winning a BAFTA in their first year of broadcasting.

ITV will have an on-site presentation and production team at the 2021 Breeders' Cup and will show all 14 Championship races, with the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and Longines Breeders' Cup Classic being showcased on the main channel and every other race on ITV4.

Niall Sloane, Director of Sport, ITV said: “ITV are delighted to be able to bring all the races at the Breeders Cup, a truly global event and the culmination of the 2021 flat racing season, to a big terrestrial audience in the U.K.”

Sky Sports Racing

Sky Sports Racing will continue its long-standing partnership with the Breeders' Cup with live coverage of the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships using the acclaimed, NBC-produced feed in its broadcast coverage and hosting Sky Sports Racing talent on-site at Del Mar for interviews and reporting. Alongside the live television broadcast, extensive digital coverage and promotion of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be available on attheraces.com – the U.K. and Ireland's largest racing website – and via the skysports.com network.

Matthew Imi, Chief Executive, At The Races said: “We're delighted to continue our valued relationship with the Breeders' Cup and it's great news that Del Mar in November will be able to welcome racegoers with 100% of seated capacity. The Breeders' Cup goes from strength to strength and continues to be a focal point and culmination for our comprehensive coverage of US racing, as we stream and broadcast events throughout the year for fans in the U.K. and Ireland and via more than 30 bookmaker partners.”

Tickets for the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships in Del Mar, Calif. will go on sale at Noon ET / 9:00 a.m. PT on Friday, July 16. Available seating options and pricing can be viewed now at BreedersCup.com/tickets.

Racing TV

Racing TV has secured the rights to broadcast the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships as well as 11 of the 16 Breeders' Cup “Win and You're in” Challenge races in the U.K. and Ireland this year. Racing TV has also committed to a full, innovative marketing plan to support its coverage of the event across its broadcast and digital platforms.

Martin Stevenson, CEO of Racecourse Media Group, parent company of Racing TV, said: “We are delighted to team up with Breeders' Cup. We look forward to building real momentum and excitement across the season in the lead-up to Breeders' Cup via engaging and compelling content, which will all be underpinned by the highest-quality production and presentation, as befits the World Championships of horse racing.”

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CHRB Approves Race Date Shifts For Northern California Fairs

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Wednesday, June 16. 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 Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

The Board conditionally approved the license application for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to operate a race meet that will open on Friday, July 16, and run through Monday (Labor Day), September 6. Unlike last year when the pandemic prevented the public from attending the races, Del Mar will welcome as many as 15,000 patrons to its racing programs, provided they have reserved seats. Racing is scheduled for three days – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – for the first two weeks, and then Thursday racing will be added for the following four weeks. The meet will close with a five-day week, Thursday through Labor Day.
As there will not be a State Fair again this year, Fair officials decided not to run any racing programs at Cal Expo in what normally would be a summer race meet in the Capital in conjunction with other Fair activities. Accordingly, Cal Expo arranged to move one of its allocated three weeks of racing to Pleasanton. The Board approved the license application for the California Exposition and State Fair to conduct a fair meet in Pleasanton. The three days of racing will be offered on July 16, 17, and 18.
The Board also approved an agreement between Pleasanton and three horsemen's groups – the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, and Arabian Racing Association of California – authorizing their racing secretaries to establish conditions on races limiting the administrations of certain medications. Specifically, no horse shall be permitted to race in a stakes race with any race-day medication, which includes the use of furosemide; every horse within the inclosure and any auxiliary training facility is subject to out-of-competition testing; all parties agree to strict limitations on the use of any analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications during racing and training; there are restrictions on intra-articular injections that include a prohibition of a horse racing within 30 days following an intra-articular injection with a corticosteroid into the metacarpophalangeal or metatarsophalangeal joints; and finally, no horse that has been administered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication within the previous 48 hours shall participate in a race or recorded work. This agreement will extend to all fair meets in Northern California.
The Board dealt with the remaining two weeks of racing that originally were allocated to Cal Expo by reallocating those weeks to Golden Gate Fields at the request of both parties. The Board first made that reallocation and then approved the license application for Pacific Racing Association II to conduct a race meet at Golden Gate that will commence July 23 and conclude August 1.
The Board also approved agreements between the TOC and the two thoroughbred meets approved Wednesday (Del Mar and Golden Gate) with the same entry conditions as those contained in the fairs agreement.
The Board denied a request by San Luis Rey Downs auxiliary training facility for more time to install sprinklers in some of its barns.
The Board asked management to provide more information about the delay and for progress reports. The matter will be reconsidered at the July 21 meeting.
Executive Director Scott Chaney reported on a significant reduction in equine fatalities in California horse racing, largely due to a multitude of new regulations to protect horses as well as cooperation from stakeholders. He also announced that Dr. Timothy Grande, longtime Official Veterinarian on the Southern California thoroughbred circuit, has been named to the newly created position of CHRB Chief Official Veterinarian with broad responsibilities of oversight throughout the state.
Dr. Rick Arthur gave his final report as equine medical director before retiring at the end of this month. Dr. Jeff Blea will become EMD on July 1. Chairman Ferraro and several other commissioners took the opportunity to thank Dr. Arthur for his service. “During the last 15 years, Dr. Arthur has brought our medical program and our health and safety program light-years ahead of where it was when he started. We truly appreciate what you've done,” said Chairman Ferraro.
Representatives of Arabian racing gave presentations stressing the significance of Arabian racing and pressing for more racing opportunities in the future.

Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

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NFL’s Chicago Bears Submit Bid To Purchase Arlington Park For New Stadium

The National Football League's Chicago Bears announced Thursday afternoon they have submitted a bid to purchase Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights, Ill., from Churchill Downs Inc.

“We recently submitted a bid to purchase the Arlington International Racecourse property,” said Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips. “It's our obligation to explore every possible option to ensure we're doing what's best for our organization and its future. If selected, this step allows us to further evaluate the property and its potential.”

The Bears are the second known bidder for the 326-acre property that has hosted horse racing since 1927. A group led by former Arlington president Roy Arnold issued a statement on Tuesday saying it has submitted a bid to develop a portion of the property while continuing racing at the northwest suburban Chicago track. Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday that he had met with “less than 10” potential bidding groups before a 5 p.m. CT Tuesday deadline to submit bids on the property.

The Bears currently play at Soldier Field along Lake Michigan just south of downtown Chicago. That stadium, which first opened in 1924, was renovated at a cost of $400 million earlier this century, reopening in the fall of 2003.

The Bears are owned by the heirs of the late George Halas, who owned and coached the team and first raised the possibility of moving the team to the suburbs nearly 50 years ago.

If Arlington Park becomes the new home of the Chicago Bears, it would be the second historic racetrack that had been owned by Churchill Downs Inc. to be developed into an NFL stadium. Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., was sold in 2005 by Churchill Downs to the Bay Meadows Land Company, which operated the track until 2013. It was demolished the following year for the construction of SoFi Stadium, since September 2020 the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

Churchill Downs Inc. shocked the Illinois racing industry when it opted not to apply for a casino license at Arlington following passage of an expanded gambling bill giving Illinois tracks something they had sought for more than 20 years. Churchill Downs Inc. is majority owner of Rivers Casino in nearby Des Plaines, and the company is seeking a casino license in Waukegan, north of Chicago.

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