Another Horse Dies at Santa Anita, Two Days After Track Reopens
ARCADIA, Calif. — A two-horse spill in the San Simeon Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Sunday led to the 23rd equine fatality at the Southern California track in a little more than three months.
Arms Runner injured his right front leg and fell in the Grade 3 race on turf, two days after Santa Anita reopened to racing after being closed for nearly a month.
That caused a trailing horse, La Sardane, to fall. La Sardane, a 5-year-old mare, got back on her feet and was apparently uninjured. The race was completed, and Law Abidin Citizen won.
Arms Runner was attended to by track veterinarians and taken away in a van. Track stewards said the horse, trained by Peter Miller, had been euthanized. Arms Runner had three wins in 13 starts and earnings of $125,292, according to Equibase.
The accident, during the fourth of nine scheduled races, occurred as the horses crossed the dirt surface during the transition from the hillside turf course to the main turf course.
The majority of the fatalities at Santa Anita since Dec. 26 have occurred on the main dirt surface.
The rest of the card was completed after the accident. The jockey Martin Pedroza, aboard Arms Runner, rode later in the day; Ruben Fuentes, a late replacement for the scheduled rider Joel Rosario aboard La Sardane, did not.
The track closed March 3 so officials could inspect and renovate the dirt surface after the series of fatalities that have drawn national attention outside the sport and criticism from animal rights groups.
Track officials have not announced a particular cause for the unusual number of deaths.
The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita, had announced a reduction in the amount of the antibleeding medication Lasix allowed on race days. The California Horse Racing Board approved the measure, and it took effect Friday.
A proposal to eliminate the use of whips, except when a horse’s or jockey’s safety is involved, still requires the approval of various state agencies.
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