California’s Santa Anita racetrack has suspended races indefinitely after the deaths of 21 horses.
Park officials are planning to reexamine the track’s dirt surface after a 4-year-old filly had to be euthanized this week after a training injury, according to ESPN.
All 21 deaths have occurred since Dec. 26 — about as many as in all of 2017.
{mosads}Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of the company that owns Santa Anita, said that it’s possible weather in the area has contributed to a change in dirt surface and resulted in injuries. The track received 11.5 inches of rain in February in addition to cold temperatures.
“The tracks out here are built not for weather like that,” he told ESPN.
“The safety, health and welfare of the horses and jockeys is our top priority,” Ritvo said in a press release. “While we are confident further testing will confirm the soundness of the track, the decision to close is the right thing to do at this time.”’
Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally, whose wife owned the horse that died this week, said that he thinks weather “has a lot to do” with the horse’s death.
“Santa Anita has been a wonderful track, and they’ve done all kinds of tests,” McAnally said, according to ESPN. “I don’t know what else they could do. It’s a fluky thing.”
The track had experts in last week to test the dirt surface. Two horses have died since the track was determined “100 percent ready” for racing, according to ESPN.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals praised officials for deciding to close the track and called for a criminal investigation into trainers and veterinarians who it says “may have put injured horses on the track, leading to their deaths.”
The famed racetrack, which hosts the Breeders’ Cup, has been criticized by animal rights activists in the wake of the deaths.