Health Department Order Suspends Racing at Santa Anita

In accordance with instructions received from Los Angeles County Health Department, Santa Anita Park will temporarily close for live racing effective immediately, the track said March 27.

Santa Anita Park had been scheduled for a three-day racing week through March 29. One of its major races, the Santa Anita Derby (G1), was set for April 4.

Stating the reasons for the closure in a release Thursday, Santa Anita said the track is "abiding by the instructions issued this morning by the California Horse Racing Board to operate under the sanction of the local health authorities.

"At Santa Anita Park, the health, safety, and welfare of every person and every horse in our community is our top priority," the statement read. "At this time, there are no known cases of COVID-19 at Santa Anita Park. This measure is being taken in response to a mandate from LA County officials."

Racing at Santa Anita had been taking place without the general public since March 14. Attendance had been restricted to participating horsemen, racing officials, and limited track staff.

In an interview with BloodHorse earlier this week, CHRB chair Dr. Greg Ferraro said racing had been able to remain ongoing in California "mostly through the efforts of The Stronach Group (which owns Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields) making the case to county health people and the Governor that the backstretch is essentially a closed society back there."

He said the CHRB and track officials had furthered backstretch health care procedures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Unlike some of the other jurisdictions, we don’t have a lot of training centers or farms to send these horses," he said. "We pretty much have to keep them there, keep them in training."

Training has continued without interruption at Santa Anita, which the track said houses 1,700 horses and includes 750 workers within its backstretch.

"We will continue to work with authorities to familiarize them with the protocols which have been put in place to protect the health and safety of those who work with the horses and the horses themselves," the Santa Anita statement said. "We look forward to the return of live racing at Santa Anita as soon as approval is received from local regulators."

Eoin Harty, president of California Thoroughbred Trainers, echoed Ferraro's praise of TSG's enhanced protocols in the face of COVID-19.

"Santa Anita has gone above and beyond, getting the word out about social distancing and self isolation," he said. "You can't swing a cat without hitting some kind of hand sanitizing station in the barn area. It was down to two people, including the trainer, who were actually permitted (on the frontside) to witness the horse run. 

"Most people have no concept of what's going on, and all they see is just horse racing continuing, and that's it. But it's a very self-contained unit at the racetrack. I just think the people who have made this decision have missed the ball on this one.

"We have to keep these horses fit, they have to be tended to regardless of what's going on in the world. They have to be fed and exercised properly, and that's where the horsemen come in. I'm just hoping the racetrack will stay open (for training) and we'll be able to maintain some level of fitness until there's a light at the end of the tunnel."

The suspension of racing cost Little Red Feather Racing's Opus Won a scheduled start in the March 28 Santa Ana Stakes (G3T), a race in which she was the 3-1 morning-favorite.

"It’s a terrible time. I’m sure there are a lot of frustrated people out there," said Billy Koch, founder and managing partner for Little Red Feather Racing. "But as owners, we just want what’s best for the people and the horses. There is not much we can do about it.

"It’s obviously disappointing, but I know how hard (TSG executives) Aidan Butler, Nate Newby, and Craig Fravel have worked to keep the track open. I think they deserve a lot of credit for the job they’ve done, enabling us to last this long. They can only do so much. Are we disappointed? Of course. Are we blaming anybody? No."

An email from the Thoroughbred Owners of California distributed Friday at 1 p.m PT said that "racing is continuing at Golden Gate Fields at this time."

Late on Friday, the TOC emailed its membership an update, writing that Santa Anita's suspension of racing "remains a fluid situation, and it is our hope racing can return ASAP with additional health and safety measures in place to address the Department of Health’s concerns."

Racing has been dramatically reduced across the country due to COVID-19. Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky became one of the latest to close this week, citing a health and safety order from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear that affected many businesses. At Belmont Park in New York, a state which has been the hotbed of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., six backstretch workers have tested positive for the virus through March 26.

When asked what kind of message he would send to his fellow trainers in the wake of the Santa Anita closure, Harty responded with a simple but genuine directive that can be taken to heart by the entire Thoroughbred industry.

"Take care of yourself, take care of your help, take care of your horses, and we'll live to fight another day," he said.