Contact: Eric Wing (914) 434-3529
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced that the Oak Tree Racing Association and Santa Anita Park have been fully accredited by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance following a complete review of all racing operations at the facility. Oak Tree at Santa Anita is the 12th racing facility to be so designated by the Alliance. Churchill Downs and Keeneland were accredited in April; Belmont Park received accreditation in May; Delaware Park and Hollywood Park were accredited in June; Monmouth Park was accredited in July; Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course received accreditation in August; and Calder Race Course, Turfway Park and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club were accredited in September. Pimlico Race Course was granted provisional accreditation in May.
The accreditation of Oak Tree at Santa Anita was the culmination of a lengthy certification process that began with the track’s completion of a 48-page written application and continued as the Oak Tree Racing Association hosted several meetings with Alliance officials. The on-site review included inspections of all facets of the racing facility, and interviews with track executives, racetrack personnel, jockeys, owners, trainers, stewards, regulators and fans. The inspection team was comprised of Celeste Kunz, DVM; Stan Bowker, Chairman of the Racing Officials Accreditation Program; and Mike Ziegler, Executive Director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.
“Oak Tree was reviewed during its recent live meeting,” said Ziegler. “It exceeded prescribed benchmarks on the vast majority of fronts and established industry-wide best practices in no fewer than 11 areas including post-mortem veterinary examinations, shoes and hoof care, equine ambulance protocol, safety training and continuing education, out-of-competition testing, frozen-sample testing, and testing for alkalinizing substances and exogenous steroids.”
“We are proud that Oak Tree received such strong ratings in so many aspects of its racing operations at Santa Anita,” said Sherwood Chillingworth, Executive Vice President of the Oak Tree Racing Association. “We take our responsibilities very seriously with respect to the safety of our human and equine competitors.”
The Alliance, formed last October with the goal of establishing national uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity, includes 55 racetracks in North America and every major national horsemen’s organization. Alliance certification standards cover five broad areas: injury reporting and prevention; creating a safer racing environment; aftercare and transition of retired racehorses; uniform medication, testing and penalties; and safety research. Within those five categories, specific standards focus on areas including:
- Systematic reporting of equine injuries
- Aftercare of racehorses
- Pre- and post-race veterinary examinations
- Post-mortem examinations
- Health and safety of jockeys
- Riding crops and their use
- Horse shoes and hoof care
- Safety research
- Safety equipment for jockeys and horse handlers
- Exogenous Anabolic Steroids
- Alkalinizing agents (TCO2)
- On-track emergency medical care for humans and equines
- Out-of-competition testing
- Freezing and retrospective testing of post race samples
- Continuing education
- Security assessment and training
The accreditation program initially will focus on human and equine safety, but will be expanded to cover additional areas, including wagering security.
The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance is a standing organization whose purpose is to establish standards and practices to promote safety and integrity in horseracing and to secure their implementation. Information on the Alliance, including the Alliance Code of Standards, can be found at www.NTRAalliance.com.
The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, former four-term Governor of Wisconsin and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, serves as independent monitor of the Alliance and will provide public reports on Alliance progress in instituting safety and integrity standards.
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