The death of any horse is always tragic, let alone 20+ horses over several months at one track. But if the recent equine deaths at Santa Anita lead to a safer, better, more humane thoroughbred industry, with less 'black eyes' from racetrack deaths of horses, those losses won't be in vain. While the steps announced by Santa Anita Chairman Belinda Stronach were sudden and not without controversy, as WHOA (Water, Hay, Oats Alliance, see their letter below) states "she's to be commended for taking a stand that is right for our horses, our industry, and the future of our sport.  Her brave, bold intentions for reform at Santa Anita and Golden Gate address the growing negative public perception toward American horseracing".  

When the problem first surfaced, Santa Anita did the right thing by closing the track for racing and training and conducted extensive investigations into the safety of the surface. While there were many theories about weather, etc., there has been nothing to date to indicate that the track surface was the cause of the fatalities. The bottom line is, nobody knows why these horses died. Theories abound, and in our social media driven world, blame and recriminations are flying back and forth. No doubt there’s a problem; what it exactly is and how to best address it is still very much an open question. 

Some horsemen feel a ban on raceday medication is not the answer, or at least should not have been initiated so suddenly, at just Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields. But we've waited decades, in vain, for the industry to come together and support national standards for medication and safety that transcend state lines. No doubt, the decision to ban race day medications is highly controversial. Many horsemen (myself included) have advocated for this for years because we feel both from a public perception as well as a safety standpoint, the less medication the better overall. In fairness, there are some very reputable horsemen who feel equally strongly that banning therapeutic medications like bute and Lasix for horses because there’s a problem with a few bad apples using illegal drugs is like banning aspirin in humans because some people are abusing opioids. It’s a fair point, no doubt the larger problem is illegal medications, not legal ones. But every step towards running sound horses with no race day medications is overall a good one.

It’s NOT clear if this move at Santa Anita - Golden Gate Fields will ultimately stand. Unless all major tracks adopt it, many horsemen will simply run elsewhere. Already Del Mar has stated they do not plan to ban Lasix, and The Stronach Group has said nothing about similar medication bans at their other tracks including Gulfstream Park and Laurel - Pimlico. If this is really a principled stand by Belinda Stronach, she should lead with the same rules at all of thier facilities in all states. 

For years legislation has been proposed in congress for national oversight of racing, rules for medications and other safety issues that would apply across all states. That is the real path to improved safety and a better industry. It’s been blocked by a determined minority of trainers – owners, perhaps the attention this issue has received in light of the deaths at Santa Anita will spur action in congress this year (the bill was just re-introduced). Nothing could be better for the entire industry at this point than one set of rules nationally for medication and other safety related issues.

The sad truth is that all high-performance sports have risk and injuries. People who insist horse racing is inherently cruel or dangerous fail to understand it’s not a zero sum game. Anyone who has ever observed a heard of wild horses will tell you a large number take a bad step, break down, and die a slow death in pain unless found and eaten by predators quickly. NOT pretty, but the facts is horses are a species where by nature many fail to survive to a ripe old age. However, that is NO an excuse for not taking medication and track safety issues seriously. At a racetrack or galloping free in the field, there are sadly going to be a significant number of fatalities, but we as an industry can do a LOT more than we are doing right now to prevent racetrack fatalities. 

H. Robb Levinsky

Founder & Chairman

Kenwood Racing, LLC