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A22 SPORTS
Saturday 30 March 2019
Racing resumes without incident at Santa Anita

By BETH HARRIS Racing Board and the Thor- outside bubble, referring
AP Racing Writer oughbred Owners of Cali- to the general public that
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — fornia led to several rules doesn't follow the sport
Racing returned to Santa changes at Santa Anita. closely.
Anita without incident Fri- "Belinda has made it clear "Even if they're not fans,
day after the track was that eventually all tracks they're the ones that will
closed nearly a month ago will be under stronger scru- go to Sacramento and
following the deaths of 22 tiny, that status quo in the they're the ones that will
horses that forced changes past isn't acceptable any- come out and vote and
in rules. more and we have to do end our sport," he said.
Discrete Stevie B won the everything we can to try to "There's more of them than
first race on the main dirt protect the interests of the we have customers, unfor-
track in front of a small horse first," Ritvo said. "She tunately."
crowd that was typical tells me if we protect the in- A proposed rule limiting the
of weekday attendance. terests of the horse we may use of a whip during races
Outside the track, about 20 have short term losses in still requires approval by
protesters toted signs criti- business but we'll have long the racing board as well as
cal of the sport. In a photo provided by Benoit Photo, Epical and jockey Tyler term gains in sustainably of a legal review by the state
"The regulars were here to- Baze win the Grade II, $200,000 San Luis Stakes horse race Fri- the industry." government, which is ex-
day and they were happy day, March 29, 2019, at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. The biggest change in pected to take months.
we were back and run- Associated Press place Friday was an im- Track announcer Frank Mi-
ning," said Tim Ritvo, chief mediate reduction in the rahmadi informed specta-
operating officer of The Arcadia track. inspected and renovated allowable dosage of the tors before each race that
Stronach Group, which In Friday's $200,000 San Luis during the shutdown that anti-bleeding medication the whip rule discussed at
owns Santa Anita. "It's hard Rey Stakes, Risky Proposi- followed the high number known as Lasix on race Thursday's racing board
to get excited about being tion was a late scratch on of horse deaths since Dec. days. The approved dos- meeting was not in effect.
back when we had such a the recommendation of 26. age of the drug that can Baffert suggested a closer
bad run of catastrophic in- the track veterinarian. Epi- Santa Anita was hit by help a horse's breathing examination of the sport
juries." cal won the Grade 2 race nearly a foot of rain during dropped to 5 cc instead of needs to begin in the
All eight races, including for trainer Jim Cassidy. an unusually cold and wet 10 cc on race days. breeding shed, where mil-
three on turf, went off with- The resumption of racing winter. "Five cc's is plenty for a lions of dollars are often in-
out problems under a sun- was being closely watched "I think that was the major horse," Baffert said. volved.
ny sky, a slight breeze and by the industry and the problem," said Baffert, who Of the 67 horses that raced "The trainers and owners
temperatures in the mid- general public concerned didn't have any horses in- Friday, all but two ran on are the only ones account-
70s. about the safety of the jured or die during the re- Lasix. able. We're being regu-
Ritvo said total wagering horses. cent incidents. There were six scratches, in- lated like crazy," Baffert
was down about 10 per- "I'm just glad we got rac- Baffert had one starter on cluding four in the first race. told AP. "These horses are
cent compared to a similar ing," Hall of Fame trainer Friday. Rafal finished third "Some of them have to do changing a lot of hands by
day last year. Bob Baffert told The Associ- as the 2-5 wagering favor- with the new initiatives we the time we get to them.
"We hope the real measure- ated Press. "This is the most ite in the fifth race. put in place," Ritvo said. They need to look at that.
ment would be next week- beautiful track in America." The decision to resume rac- Next year in California, all The whole industry has to
end," he said, referring to Santa Anita had been with- ing came after discussions 2-year-olds will be banned look at ourselves from with-
April 6 when the Santa Ani- out racing since March 3, between The Stronach from race-day medication. in."
ta Derby and Santa Anita leaving a variety of track Group, led by chief oper- Ritvo said ownership is pay- Only time will tell whether
Handicap will comprise a employees idled without ating officer Belinda Stro- ing increased attention to the changes curtail the
major day of racing at the pay. The dirt surface was nach, the California Horse what he described as the string of horse fatalities.q

Department of Revenue and the state is expecting mates, in large part due
spokesman Paul Grimaldi about $500,000 in revenue to a disappointing Febru-
said Friday that it will obvi- from just that round, he ary, which was not unex-
ously be difficult to meet added. Gov. Gina Raimon- pected due to the success
that goal and that the do signed a bill Monday of the Patriots," he said in a
budget will have to be ad- to allow sports betting to statement. "With the NCAA
justed. move online. Democratic basketball tournament in
"We'll be better able to Senate President Dominick full swing, I anticipate that
project revenue as we get Ruggerio and Democratic March numbers will be
more experience," he said. House Speaker Nicholas much better."
"I think the people who set Mattiello introduced it to Raimondo's proposed
their budget gave their generate revenue and budget for the fiscal year
best estimates based on make betting more con- beginning July 1 counts on
the information they had venient. Ruggerio said Fri- $30 million from sports bet-
and what the consultants day that the numbers will ting, including $3 million in

In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 file photo, patrons visit the sports were telling them. In some likely improve as the facili- new revenue from mobile
betting area of Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. ways, we're learning a ties are better prepared to gambling. Grimaldi said he
Associated Press hard lesson." accommodate everyone thinks the $30 million esti-
Revenue for March is look- who wants to wager, with mate will likely be lowered.
SPORTS BETTING projections, but none are ing far better than Feb- the self-serve kiosks that Rhode Island legalized and
Continued from Page 17 lagging as far behind as ruary's figures due to the have been added and the launched sports betting af-
Overall, most of the states Rhode Island. NCAA Tournament, Grimal- future addition of mobile ter the U.S. Supreme Court
with newly legal sports Rhode Island is just 1.3 per- di said. Gamblers wagered sports wagering. struck down a federal law
betting are on pace to cent of the way to its $11.5 $6.4 million during the first "It is doubtful that revenue last year that made most
fall short of their revenue million goal. Rhode Island round of the tournament figures will hold up to esti- sports gambling illegal.q