Santa Anita Park will maintain spring-level purses when its autumn meet opens in September, an increase from the previous two fall meets, vice president and general manager Nate Newby told the California Horse Racing Board during its July 8 meeting in Sacramento, Calif.
His comments, made before the CHRB approved Santa Anita's license to conduct its autumn race meet, noted that maiden special weight purses, which were $54,000 two autumns ago, increased to $60,000 last year and will rise to $65,000 when racing resumes Sept. 23.
"Also happy to report that our purse overpayment continues to go in the right direction," Newby said. "Our projections are to have that very close to zero by the end of the year."
California racetracks, which lack gaming, depend on wagering handle to fund purses. In recent years, Southern California purses also have benefited from the redistribution of simulcast revenue without Thoroughbred racing in Northern California. Purse levels still trail those in other major racing states, such as Kentucky and New York, where purses are boosted by gaming.
Newby said Santa Anita is developing its television strategy in light of the discontinuation of on-site coverage by FanDuel TV across North America. In addition to Breeders' Cup Challenge races airing on NBC and Peacock, the track is in discussions with FOX, and Santa Anita hopes to add other digital platforms. Santa Anita is further expanding its YouTube offerings to include full-race drone footage.
Following a question from CHRB vice chairman Oscar Gonzales regarding the New York Racing Association's implemented guardrails that have reduced computer-assisted wagering activity and volatility in its wagering pools—changes widely praised by traditional horseplayers—Newby replied that CAW play is a stakeholder decision involving the Thoroughbred Owners of California. The TOC participates in purse negotiations and wagering agreements.
"But our plan is to continue with the two-minute cutoff in the win pool, which in California has really shown a dramatic reduction in late odds changes," Newby said. "And I can tell you personally the amount of complaints we received since that policy was implemented is almost zero. So that's the plan to continue."
Santa Anita's autumn meet will feature 26 stakes, including seven Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races during the opening two weekends.
Advancements in equine safety were another major theme of Wednesday's meeting. CHRB executive director Scott Cheney reported California tracks and training facilities had 51 catastrophic equine fatalities during the recently completed fiscal year, including 33 musculoskeletal injuries, the lowest annual total since the board began implementing sweeping safety reforms. The total represents approximately 7,000 individual horses competing or training at regulated facilities during the year.
By comparison, Cheney noted, "In calendar year 2008 there were 345. In calendar year 2019, when kind of our big push started, there were 128."
CHRB equine medical director Dr. Jeff Blea outlined several emerging technologies that could further reduce injuries, mentioning biometric monitoring systems highlighted during last week's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in Kentucky, which he attended. He said that California regulatory veterinarians currently use the SLEIP video gait analysis application to evaluate horses at a trot. He further discussed the use of another technology, Arioneo, whose wearable sensors are worn by horses conditioned by "probably three or four trainers" in California.
Blea hopes to see wider adoption of the technology, adding, "A daily longitudinal analysis using wearables is where we want to go, not only for musculoskeletal analysis, but for cardiac events."
He acknowledged that high cost remains an obstacle to broader adoption of the devices.
