By Dan Ross
Santa Anita executives, including The Stronach Group (TSG) chairman and president Belinda Stronach, held an online meeting Thursday with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and other officials about a possible resumption of live racing at Santa Anita.
According to TSG chief strategy officer Aidan Butler, an official decision on the matter is expected early next week.
“We walked them through it, and then I presented them the plan. As positive as I think it could be. [Barger] seems very understanding—she wants to work with us,” said Butler, about the meeting. “[Barger is] taking the plan to the doctors that be, and we're awaiting a decision.”
Prior to Thursday's meeting, it was expected that Santa Anita management would meet with the department of public health on Saturday, Apr. 18. According to Butler, Barger's office reached out Thursday to schedule a meeting the same day. “That's a little more of a positive as well,” he said.
The delay in formally announcing Thursday's meeting was an effort to circumvent possible pressure from animal rights groups, who have lobbied health officials to suspend live racing at Santa Anita, Butler explained.
“The more it was pointed to [Saturday], I had an inkling that the animal rights people would hot up and try to hit it [Saturday],” said Butler. “I jumped the gun and got in there quickly.”
The details of the plan Santa Anita management presented to county officials are outlined in a letter—from Butler to a variety of county officials—obtained by the Paulick Report. It includes a protocol requiring all jockeys involved in training or racing to relocate to onsite housing to live within a self-contained community.
“This relocation protocol will go one step further by adding a requirement for an independent, third-party Los Angeles County Health Officer to provide supervision and monitoring, paid for by Santa Anita Park,” the letter states.
According to Butler, the fact that the plan was created in collaboration with David Seftel, medical director at Golden Gate Fields, an infectious disease expert and current member of Stanford University's COVID-19 task force, will further bolster the track's argument. “This is a science-based approach,” said Butler. “It's a really good plan.”
The letter, which was presented to officials after Thursday's meeting, said Butler, also enumerates several key considerations, including how racing would remain closed to the public, that the track is a self-contained community, and that a suspension of live racing could create a possible “humanitarian and horse welfare crisis.”
TDN recently outlined the fragility of racing's infrastructure in California without the sustained income from live racing, and its possible impacts on a variety of services, like backstretch worker healthcare and the state's retired racehorse program.
Live racing at Santa Anita was formally cancelled on March 5. Since then, the track has remained open for morning training, but with tight restrictions in place as to access. TSG's sister track in California, Golden Gate Fields, has also suspended live racing. However, evening racing continues at Los Alamitos in Long Beach, California.
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