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Four-year-old Mongolian Groom injured his left
hind leg going into the final turn of the nationally televised
$6 million race, was taken away from the track in an ambulance
and later euthanised.
Thirty-seven horses, including three in the last nine days, have
died at the famed race track since late December, shining a
spotlight on a sport that lacks national regulation pertaining
to the misuse of drugs, a leading culprit in horse fatalities.
In April, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey
announced an investigation into why at that time 23 horses had
died at Santa Anita over a three month period.
The results of the investigation have yet to be released,
leading to frustration on the part of activists, who protested
outside her office demanding answers on Thursday.
The Breeders' Cup, the sports richest event with some $30
million up for grabs over its two days, changes venues every
year and its board had considered moving it from Santa Anita in
light of the fatalities.
But in June it voted to keep it at Santa Anita as planned after
track owners the Stronach Group implemented new rules governing
the use of race day medications and hired a record number of
veterinarians to examine the horses prior to their starts.
"The decision to hold the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita before
the results of investigations into the spate of recent deaths
was ill advised," Kitty Block, CEO of the Humane Society of the
United States, said in a statement.
"We believe that a suspension of racing at this track is
warranted until the investigations of those deaths, and now the
death of Mongolian Groom, are completed and released."
Animal rights group PETA went further, calling for a halt to
horse racing nationwide.
"If the racing industry and state officials truly want to save
horses' lives, they will suspend trainers and veterinarians of
horses who die pending full investigations, install safer
synthetic surfaces and CT scan equipment at all tracks, and ban
all drugs in the two weeks before a race," said PETA senior vice
president Kathy Guillermo.
"All racing nationwide must be suspended until these measures
are put in place," she added.
"Any reluctance to do so will lead to more deaths and the
self-destruction of horse racing."
WHIPPING BAN
A video of the race released by PETA shows jockey Abel Cedillo
whipping Mongolian Groom as he came around the final turn on the
fast dirt surface before stopping and raising his left hind leg
off the ground.
"So even if he was in pain and wanted to slow down, he could not
have done so," Guillermo said.
"Striking horses during racing must be banned now."
The California Horse Racing Board has proposed a measure that
would greatly limit the use of the whip. The measure is
currently open for public comment.
Backers of the Horse Racing Integrity Act, federal legislation
that would curtail the use of drugs and establish national
oversight, said they hoped Saturday's tragedy would prompt
Congress to act.
"American horse racing is at its greatest crossroads in history,
and the death of Mongolian Groom underscores the need for
Congress to pass the Horseracing Integrity Act," said Marty Irby
of Animal Wellness Action.
The Breeders' Cup and the Stronach Group support the bill but is
opposed by Churchill Downs, home to the Kentucky Derby, a state
represented by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell has yet to announce his position on it.
California Senator Dianne Feinstein had said the Breeders' Cup
would be "critical test" for the future of horse racing in the
state prior to the event.
On Saturday the Breeders' Cup said measures had been put in
place to ensure its athletes were racing under the "safest and
most transparent conditions possible."
"The death of Mongolian Groom is a loss to the entire horse
racing community," the Breeders' Cup said in a statement.
"Our equine and human athletes' safety is the Breeders' Cup's
top priority. We have worked closely with Santa Anita leading up
to the World Championships to promote enhanced equine safety."
The race track concludes its autumn meet on Sunday.
(Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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