The sudden rise in fatalities – 23 since Dec. 26 – has baffled everyone. Explanations are in short supply.
“I think it’s just an anomaly,” said Bob Baffert, trainer of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. “We just have this black cloud over us for some reason. I thought things were going good and then what happened [Sunday]. … I don’t think anyone can really put the finger on it.
“Here we’ve been running for last 40 to 50 years, the same whips, medication. Now all of a sudden, boom, we’re having problems. They are trying to find something. I’m just hoping we can get to Saturday where we’ve got some good horses running, and hopefully the fans are still excited when they come out.”
Saturday should be the biggest day of the track’s winter/spring meet, with the $1-million Santa Anita Derby, whose winner could become a favorite for the Kentucky Derby, and the Santa Anita Handicap, one of the most prestigious races in the country for older horses.“It has reached a tipping point,” said Jim Cassidy, president of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. “This is Santa Anita. It’s not like the Chattanooga Blue Devils; this is the New York Yankees or the L.A. Dodgers.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to form an independent panel to examine training and veterinarian practices in the state. The Humane Society said it was “critical of the decision to resume both training and racing at the Santa Anita racetrack before the necropsies of all [23] horses … have been completed, analyzed and made public.”
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