California Horse Racing Board Extends License For Los Alamitos Race Track
CYPRESS (CBSLA) — The California Horse Racing Board voted Thursday to extend the Los Alamitos Race Course's quarterhorse racing license from six months to a year.
The reversal from a six-month license comes after two horses died while training at the Cypress track over the past week.
According to the California Horse Racing Board's website, Don't Stop Looking, a 3-year-old filly, and Noor Khan, a 4-year-old mare, died Sunday. Details of the deaths were not immediately available.
They were the first deaths to occur at the track since Dec. 16.
On Dec. 17, the CHRB granted Los Alamitos a license to conduct quarter horse racing in the 2020-21 season, but only for six months as opposed to the full year track owners requested.
Los Alamitos had applied to hold quarter horse races from Dec. 23, 2020, through Dec. 21, 2021.
After the board approved new regulations limiting the amount of drugs horses can be given before racing at Los Alamitos, Commissioner Oscar Gonzales introduced a motion to limit the license to six months so the board could revisit the issue and examine whether the new changes were successful in reducing the number of equine deaths at the track.
Los Alamitos was briefly placed on probation by the CHRB on July 10, 2020, due to a spate of racehorse deaths.
At that time at least 20 horses had died at the track in 2020 after suffering racing or training injuries, and another 10 had succumbed to gastrointestinal and other types of illnesses.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
