CHRB Approves Race Date Shifts For Northern California Fairs

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Wednesday, June 16. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

• The Board conditionally approved the license application for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to operate a race meet that will open on Friday, July 16, and run through Monday (Labor Day), September 6. Unlike last year when the pandemic prevented the public from attending the races, Del Mar will welcome as many as 15,000 patrons to its racing programs, provided they have reserved seats. Racing is scheduled for three days – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – for the first two weeks, and then Thursday racing will be added for the following four weeks. The meet will close with a five-day week, Thursday through Labor Day.
• As there will not be a State Fair again this year, Fair officials decided not to run any racing programs at Cal Expo in what normally would be a summer race meet in the Capital in conjunction with other Fair activities. Accordingly, Cal Expo arranged to move one of its allocated three weeks of racing to Pleasanton. The Board approved the license application for the California Exposition and State Fair to conduct a fair meet in Pleasanton. The three days of racing will be offered on July 16, 17, and 18.
• The Board also approved an agreement between Pleasanton and three horsemen’s groups – the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, and Arabian Racing Association of California – authorizing their racing secretaries to establish conditions on races limiting the administrations of certain medications. Specifically, no horse shall be permitted to race in a stakes race with any race-day medication, which includes the use of furosemide; every horse within the inclosure and any auxiliary training facility is subject to out-of-competition testing; all parties agree to strict limitations on the use of any analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications during racing and training; there are restrictions on intra-articular injections that include a prohibition of a horse racing within 30 days following an intra-articular injection with a corticosteroid into the metacarpophalangeal or metatarsophalangeal joints; and finally, no horse that has been administered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication within the previous 48 hours shall participate in a race or recorded work. This agreement will extend to all fair meets in Northern California.
• The Board dealt with the remaining two weeks of racing that originally were allocated to Cal Expo by reallocating those weeks to Golden Gate Fields at the request of both parties. The Board first made that reallocation and then approved the license application for Pacific Racing Association II to conduct a race meet at Golden Gate that will commence July 23 and conclude August 1.
• The Board also approved agreements between the TOC and the two thoroughbred meets approved Wednesday (Del Mar and Golden Gate) with the same entry conditions as those contained in the fairs agreement.
• The Board denied a request by San Luis Rey Downs auxiliary training facility for more time to install sprinklers in some of its barns.
• The Board asked management to provide more information about the delay and for progress reports. The matter will be reconsidered at the July 21 meeting.
• Executive Director Scott Chaney reported on a significant reduction in equine fatalities in California horse racing, largely due to a multitude of new regulations to protect horses as well as cooperation from stakeholders. He also announced that Dr. Timothy Grande, longtime Official Veterinarian on the Southern California thoroughbred circuit, has been named to the newly created position of CHRB Chief Official Veterinarian with broad responsibilities of oversight throughout the state.
• Dr. Rick Arthur gave his final report as equine medical director before retiring at the end of this month. Dr. Jeff Blea will become EMD on July 1. Chairman Ferraro and several other commissioners took the opportunity to thank Dr. Arthur for his service. “During the last 15 years, Dr. Arthur has brought our medical program and our health and safety program light-years ahead of where it was when he started. We truly appreciate what you’ve done,” said Chairman Ferraro.
• Representatives of Arabian racing gave presentations stressing the significance of Arabian racing and pressing for more racing opportunities in the future.

Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

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