California is the Gold Standard in Horse Racing Safety
The California horseracing industry is committed to achieving the highest horse care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing. Since 2019, our industry has worked in closer partnership with state legislators and the California Horse Racing Board to implement the most stringent legislative and regulatory reforms in the nation.
These reforms have been incredibly effective. Today, California has the safest racetracks in the country, by more than 2x the national average.
- There were zero racing fatalities at Del Mar Racetrack in 2023, a season when horses made 3,391 starts.
- Santa Anita Park saw an 80% decrease in equine fatalities since protocols were implemented.
- Fatal injuries in California have reduced by more than 50%since reforms went into effect.
Our work has been so successful that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) used California’s equine safety reforms as the blueprint for its national regulations, which went into effect in May of 2022.
The California racing industry is committed to ongoing investments of millions of dollars in cutting edge advancements to improve safety, including safer racing surfaces and maintenance, research and technology to better monitor horses’ performance and health, and innovations in veterinary medicine, including diagnostic technology and surgical interventions, to better diagnose and treat injuries.
Through these efforts, we will continue to ensure the safety and welfare of equine athletes for years to come.
A Culture of Safety
The highest of equine safety standards and protocols allow our industry to effectively diagnose injuries early, prevent fatalities, and promote best practices in horse welfare and safety. These policies:
- Implement the industry’s most stringent medication rules, including specific controls on what medications can and cannot be administered, and when.
- Increase veterinarian oversight and authority to monitor and examine horses more frequently, and require diagnostic imaging to determine when and whether a horse is eligible and able train or compete.
- Require trainers to participate in postmortem examination reviews to improve understanding about how to prevent future injuries.
- Increase transparency with authorities around veterinary treatments.
- Significantly restrict the use of the crop to prevent harm.
Simultaneously, the California racing industry continues to invest millions of dollars in cutting edge advancements to improve to safety, including:
- Safer racing surfaces and maintenance
- Research and technology to better monitor horses’ performance and health
- Veterinary medical innovations, including diagnostic technology and surgical interventions, to better diagnose and treat injuries before they become fatal.
Visit the California Horse Racing Board website to learn more about these regulations.