ARCADIA, Calif. — There were no positive tests in the first two weeks of horse racing at Santa Anita under new rules limiting race-day medication.
Dr. Rick Arthur, equine consultant to the California Horse Racing Board, announced the results Wednesday at a meeting of the racing board’s medication, safety and welfare committee.
Committee chairman Madeline Auerbach applauded upon hearing the results.
The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita, implemented the changes in mid-March after nearly two dozen horses suffered fatal injuries in training or racing at the Southern California track.
Arthur says the test results are “fairly impressive given how quickly this was implemented.” He says out-of-competition testing done on horses at Santa Anita also yielded no positives.
Among the changes imposed by The Stronach Group were banning the use of the anti-bleeding medication Lasix and increasing the ban on legal therapeutic NSAIDs, joint injections, shockwave therapy and anabolic steroids.
