Golden Gate Cancels Second Straight Day of Racing

Golden Gate Fields had to cancel its second straight day of live racing Nov. 17 because of poor air quality from the devastating fires in Northern California, according to track vice president and general manager David Duggan.

Although the Camp Fire, which has been raging since Nov. 8 and still hasn't been fully contained, is well north of the Bay Area, smoke has blanketed much of the region and forced the cancellation of school days, the postponement of major sporting events, and the closing of museums and other public venues.

BALAN: Poor Air Quality Forces Golden Gate to Cancel Racing

Duggan said he was hoping the air quality index would drop below 200 Saturday at Golden Gate, but it hung at 228, which led to the cancellation of racing and morning training. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies the 201-300 AQI range as "very unhealthy." Duggan said track management will continue to monitor the air quality ahead of Sunday's live racing card.

California Horse Racing Board equine medical director Dr. Rick Arthur said there aren't hard-and-fast guidelines regarding AQI and horses, but that veterinarians have been using human guidelines. Arthur said Golden Gate "probably made the right decision" and that Cal Expo in Sacramento has also canceled its Standardbred racing for the weekend.

"We really don't know (about guidelines for air quality and horses), and I've been in consultation with the equine veterinarians at (UC Davis), and we think it would probably be analogous to humans," Arthur said. "But there's no absolute as to what is safe and what isn't safe.

"The issue is also that it can change quickly. (During racing Nov. 15, the AQI) was 160-175, but by the end of the last race it was almost 250. I've talked to vets up there, and they said they haven't seen any clinical effects, but that doesn't mean there aren't subclinical effects."