35 DEATHS IN 10 MONTHS
Breeders’ Cup under scrutiny with one high-profile fatality possibly critical for US racing
‘AINTREE MADE SOME CHANGES THAT HAD A HUGELY POSITIVE EFFECT’
ORGANISERS of the Breeders’ Cup like to think their $28million race meeting is the biggest in the world.
In one sense, though not the one they would have liked, this year there is little chance of contradiction if it was described as the most important meeting ever in the US.
When the two-day fixture kicks off for the 36th time on Friday, the 10th staging of horseracing’s Olympics at Santa Anita in Southern California will be under scrutiny.
The standard azure blue sky over a track sprinkled with Hollywood glamour has been spoiled by some dark clouds that refuse to move off the horizon.
On both its Dirt and Turf tracks, 35 horses have suffered fatal injuries at Santa Anita either during racing or training in just 10 months and more than 60 since the start of last year. The latest death occurred on Friday following an incident on the training track.
Twenty of the deaths were in a three-month period when unseasonal weather was said to have adversely affected the track, prompting the course to briefly close in March.
A report by the California Horse Racing Board will not be made public until December but measures relating to anti-inflammatory drugs, race-day medication and use of the whip were introduced before racing recommenced.
The questions being asked will have included to what extent is medication being used to get patched-up horses on the track when they should not be racing.
One well-known trainer absent from the Breeders’ Cup is Jerry Hollendorfer.
His entries have been denied at
Santa Anita after four of the deaths at the track were his horses. He denies any wrongdoing.
After consultation, the directors of the Breeders’ Cup gave their approval for their meeting to remain at Santa Anita rather than being switched to another venue. The fall in fatality rates suggests the situation has improved but what has happened in the last 10 months has fuelled those who want to close down the sport, especially in liberal California.
Mainstream media, at best indifferent to horseracing, has lurched towards open opposition. Both the influential New York Times and Washington Post have recently carried negative editorials about the sport.
Protesters are expected at the course this week.
The situation at Santa Anita has shone an unflattering light on America’s lax rules on medication compared with other racing jurisdictions, and there is a growing sense among horsemen in the US that things have to change. C Q Covergirl became the 35th fatality when injuring both her front legs and having to be put down on Friday.
The ramifications of a similar incident being played out as NBC broadcast one of the few racing events which command national exposure is the sport’s biggest nightmare.
When two horses died in two consecutive years during the Grand National, there was a sense that a repeat might signal a death knell for the race.
Aintree made changes that had a positive effect.
Whether Santa Anita would get another chance when 600,000 signatures on a petition has the potential to close down the sport under California rules is debatable.
About 35 European raiders will be subject to more stringent pre-race checks from a team of 20 race-day vets but the backdrop to the meeting has not seen any drop in the numbers of horses crossing the Atlantic for the challenge.
Aidan O’Brien, who will be responsible for about half the Europeans, has said he did not seek any assurances about the track before drawing up a team which includes Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck.
O’Brien added: ‘We know everyone is doing their best and they will have the track the best they can possibly have it.’
Trainer Bob Baffert, whose horses have won 15 Breeders’ Cup races, also expressed confidence in the track.
‘We have changed some things for the better,’ he said. ‘It has been a wake-up call for racing. We need to do a better job and trainers and everyone involved are being more conscious of it than before.
‘Everything is going to be good. We’re going to get some good, positive vibes out of this whole thing.’
Santa Anita and the wider racing community in the US will be hoping Baffert is right.