The owners of the Santa Anita racetrack where at least 29 horses have died in recent months say they are implementing new safety rules. Less than a day after California Governor Gavin Newsom called for more oversight, the owners of the Arcadia track say a five-member safety team will be given the power to remove horses if they do not appear physically capable of competing. State racing officials call the decision "unprecedented." Critics countered by saying the state and the horse racing industry have watched hundreds of horses die over the years without taking much action.
Meantime, U.S. Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and and Republican Senator Martha McSally from Arizona, who represent two of the top horseracing states in America, have introduced a bill in Congress called The Horseracing Integrity Act. Their goal is to end the doping of American race horses by establishing a uniform national standard for drug testing with oversight by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
"Horses should run on hay, oats, and water, not on a cocktail of performance enhancers and medications," said Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action. "We applaud Senators Gillibrand and McSally and are pleased to join together to end a shameful period where unscrupulous trainers have put horses and jockeys at risk."
The Jockey Club is also expressing gratitude for the bill.
"The Horseracing Integrity Act is the only solution to improving the welfare of horses across all racing jurisdictions and achieving comprehensive reform in the sport of Thoroughbred racing," said Jim Gagliano, who is the organization's president and chief operating officer.
Gillibrand and McSally said there is no unified regulatory system in the horse racing industry, unlike the National Football League and other major sports. The industry is instead governed by different rules regarding doping and other horseracing issues in each of the 38 state racing jurisdictions in the U.S.
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Is The Demise Of Horse Racing Imminent?
By Scott Harris