CHRB

With the aim of reducing the incidence of large-bone fractures, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted unanimously Thursday to advance two new rules that would require examinations and veterinary and training record disclosures for every horse that has not had a recorded work or a race within the past 90 days. Citing the "concerning rate" of large-bone fractures in horses returning to training after extended periods, the CHRB meeting packet stated that, "An initial examination will be required by both a regulatory veterinarian and the attending veterinarian, including review...

Early last month, Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, set industry tongues wagging when indicating that horses unregistered with HISA by the launch date of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) would be scratched if entered to race. With HISA D-Day now upon the industry, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) offered guidance Friday about how it would be handling unregistered horses both this weekend and the weeks ahead, as per revised guidance from the HISA Authority. The long and short of it is...

Last month, trainer Peter Miller was fined $10,000 and suspended seven days by the Santa Anita Park stewards for violating the California Horse Racing Board's (CHRB) rules against program training. The CHRB contended that Miller had remained involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and listed under the name of his former assistant, Ruben Alvarado. Alvarado was named in the original complaint, but had avoided any formal sanctions until last Friday, when he was suspended 14 days by the Los Alamitos stewards for...

With a potential fine or suspension looming, California trainer Richard Baltas will not face a scheduled hearing with stewards at Los Alamitos Friday after Darrell Vienna, the trainer's lawyer, successfully asked for a postponement. The story was first reported by Daily Racing Form. Vienna told DRF Monday that he has received a 30-day continuance in the case from Los Alamitos stewards. A new hearing has not been scheduled, with the earliest it can come being July 31 at Del Mar. "I didn't receive the full complaint until seven days before...

Between April 15 and May 8 this year, 23 horses trained by Richard Baltas were allegedly administered a substance on race-day in violation of the California Horse Racing Board's (CHRB) rules, according to a complaint dated Tuesday, June 21. The complaint states that surveillance video caught Baltas's employees allegedly administering the substance on the days they were entered to race. In California, trainers face tight restrictions about what medications and supplements can be given to a horse within 48 hours of a race. Baltas has been ordered to appear at...

Following through on a discussion started at last month's meeting, California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) advanced Thursday a rule amendment designed to provide jockeys with weight breaks that are more in line with 21st Century human physiology. By unanimous vote, the CHRB proposed Thoroughbred rule changes that would raise the minimum weight for established riders from 112 pounds to 114 pounds in overnight races (subject to apprentice allowances) and from 103 to 105 pounds in handicap and stakes races. The board also advanced a separate amendment that would reduce the...

Trainer Peter Miller has been fined $10,000 and suspended seven days by the Santa Anita Park stewards for violating the California Horse Racing Board's rule against program training. The ruling was made pursuant to a stipulated agreement and mutual release with the CHRB. As previously reported, the CHRB filed a complaint earlier this week alleging that Miller remained involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and listed under the name of his former assistant Ruben Alvarado. Alvarado was named in a related complaint,...

As part of a mandate that flows from the governor on down to the commissioners he has appointed to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), the "lens of equity" may soon be focused squarely on the state's jockey colony. Fear not, California riders: This initiative means the owners of male horses that you pilot to victory in certain graded stakes might soon be compelled to award you a one-time breeding right if that winner goes on to become a stallion. That's a practice that was once a "gentleman's agreement" type...

California became the first state to opt into the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) enforcement structure on Thursday when the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted 7-0 to collect and remit fees on behalf of the new federal HISA Authority. For 2022, HISA has assessed California's portion of the Authority's budget to be $1.4 million, a figure that is based on starts and purses, and amounts to roughly 10% of the overall nationwide budget. It includes only the safety portion of the HISA program that will go into effect...

Courtesy California Horse Racing Board Chuck Winner, an internationally recognized expert in public affairs, crisis communications, and campaign management, who served on the California Horse Racing Board from 2012 to 2019, five of those years as chairman, passed away Thursday morning, Mar. 24, from natural causes at the age of 81. Mr. Winner guided the CHRB through difficult times, most notably during the winter of 2019 when a rash of equine fatalities at Santa Anita Park attracted worldwide scrutiny. He led the push for improved safety measures to protect horses...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) issued a release Thursday addressing a spate of recent deaths at Los Alamitos. The track is currently holding its traditional mixed-breed meet of predominantly Quarter Horses and lower-level races with Thoroughbreds. The CHRB release read as follows: "The California Horse Racing Board has been in contact with personnel and executives at Los Alamitos Race Course concerning the four recent catastrophic injuries of horses at that facility: "The 6-year-old mare Ballet Royalty finished fifth (last) in the first race at Los Alamitos on March 12....

Earlier this week, a Kentucky judge denied trainer Bob Baffert's attempts to stay a 90-day suspension related to Medina Spirit's betamethasone-positive disqualification from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC). While the appeals process plays out, the question now is: What will happen to the nearly 100-horses in Baffert's California-based stable if the suspension goes into effect on April 4. As the TDN previously reported, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) will honor the 90-day suspension metered down to Baffert through a system of reciprocity between jurisdictions. That honor system is...