New-look Santa Anita cashes winning ticket in return to racing

ARCADIA » Horses are thundering down the stretch again at Santa Anita. There are no fans or owners cheering them on. No photos in the winner’s circle. No bets placed at the track’s windows.

Still, it’s a win for the sport to be back racing against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains after being idled for 1½ months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We were going to be willing to do whatever it took to get it open,” said Bob Baffert, the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer.

From March 12-27, the track northeast of Los Angeles raced without spectators. Then the Los Angeles County Public Health Department shut it down, saying it wasn’t an essential business.

“It was sort of disappointing that we didn’t get any acknowledgement that we’re so safe here,” said Baffert, who at 67 is among an age group considered vulnerable to COVID-19.

Baffert compared Santa Anita’s stable area to a hospital with a similar level of disinfecting that goes on.

“If anybody was prepared for something like this, it’s the backside,” he said. “We always keep a very clean environment back there because we don’t want viruses to come in and get the horses sick. Our grooms wore masks and gloves before this started.”

Santa Anita received approval to resume racing May 15 with new protocols in place.

Without fans eating, drinking and gambling, track owner The Stronach Group has let go half of Santa Anita’s workforce, mostly on the hospitality side, according to Aidan Butler, TSG’s executive director for California racing. “It’s brutal,” he said. Face coverings and daily temperature checks are mandatory, and everyone who passes inspection slips on green wristbands. Social distancing is required, too, although with 320 acres to spare, there’s little chance of overcrowding in the Art Deco grandstand or stable area that houses about 1,700 horses and 750 workers who live on-site.

“I think it’s a little overkill,” said Baffert, who lowered his bandana during an interview while keeping his distance. “It’s the same people working with the same horses everyday. We’re all educated enough now to figure out what we need to do.”

Fellow Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and Baffert agree that local government officials didn’t give Santa Anita due respect.

“I don’t see anybody not wearing a mask back there, I don’t see anybody congregating. That’s not so everywhere else,” Mandella said from behind a white mask. “We’re leading a pretty good example. I just think racing should get some credit.”

Saddling and pre-race routines have changed to increase physical distancing.

Jockeys aren’t allowed in the stable area, so they don’t interact with trainers, who used to give them a leg up on their mounts in the paddock. Now the horses are led by grooms from their stables to the receiving barn. Then they join up with a pony to accompany them through the paddock and onto the track.

“So far, everything I’ve seen has gone very well,” Mandella said.

Bugler Jay Cohen blows “Call to the Post” to the empty grandstand, a tradition maintained for those watching via simulcast.