ESPN: Santa Anita suspends races after 21st horse dies

BleedGopher

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per ESPN:

Santa Anita has canceled racing indefinitely to re-examine its dirt surface after the deaths of 21 horses over the past two months.

Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that racing won't be held this weekend, when two major races were scheduled: the San Felipe for 3-year-old Kentucky Derby hopefuls and the Santa Anita Handicap for older horses.

Ritvo wouldn't speculate on when training and racing would resume. After this weekend, races were to be run again starting March 14 at the storied racetrack that will host the Breeders' Cup world championships for a record 10th time this fall.

"In whole, we feel confident in the track and we're just being very proactive,'' Ritvo said. "We want to do all the testing that needs to be done. When we believe we're in good shape, we'll start to train over it again.''

The Daily Racing Form first reported the cancellation.

The latest fatality occurred during training on Tuesday, when a 4-year-old filly got injured and was euthanized.

"Obviously, one horse is too many,'' Ritvo said. "The recent rash is just horrible. We need to definitely take a step back and evaluate everything.''

http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/26144955/santa-anita-suspends-races-21st-horse-dies

Go Gophers!!
 

People watch and bet on (and let's face it, they only watch for the sake of gambling) older horses racing??

Not saying I'm against it per se, but that is surprising to me.


Should there be a ban on racing horses after 3yrs old?
 




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