The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Wednesday, April 22.

The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Dr. Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

• Newly appointed Executive Director Scott Chaney said in his opening remarks, “Thank you Chairman Ferraro and thank you to the entire Board for the confidence you have placed in me as to my appointment. I knew this would be a challenging job, and the last six weeks (during the COVID-19 health crisis) even more so. I will do my best to validate your trust.”

• The Board approved the license application for the Los Alamitos Horse Racing Association (LAHRA) to conduct a thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos that will open June 26 and conclude July 6 (six programs). This daytime meet will run concurrently with the ongoing night quarter-horse meet at Los Alamitos.

• The Board approved an agreement between the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and LAHRA authorizing the racing secretary to establish conditions for races. The agreement prohibits anti-bleeding medication (Lasix) in two-year-olds, limits Lasix to 250 cc, prohibits any intra-articular medication within 14 days of a race, and extends that prohibition to 30 days for fetlock injections, both metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints. The Board approved a similar agreement between TOC and the California Authority of Racing Fairs.

• The Board put over until its May meeting consideration of the license application for an Alameda County Fair meeting in Pleasanton that is scheduled to open June 19, subject to authorization by county health officials. Vice Chair Gonzales will be meeting (teleconferencing) with Northern California stakeholders to discuss date-allocation issues and other matters pertaining to this application.

• The Board partially suspended fingerprinting requirements for temporary occupational licenses by extending from 45 calendar days to 120 calendar days the window in which those with a temporary occupational license must comply with fingerprinting requirements. This extension is necessary due to the current closure of CHRB licensing offices due to the State’s efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. (See advisories in English and Spanish.)

• The Watch and Wager (W&W) harness meet at Cal Expo ended abruptly April 1 by order of Sacramento County health authorities due to COVID-19 concerns. This means W&W still has carryover funds from Pick 5 and Pick 6 pools. The Board authorized a mandatory payout date for those funds on the final day of W&W’s next meet, expected to conclude December 19, 2020. In the meantime, those funds will be kept in interest-earning accounts, and the interest will be included in those distributions.

• The Board approved for 45-day public notice a proposed regulatory amendment stipulating that CHRB Official Veterinarians have authority and jurisdiction to directly supervise Racing Veterinarians hired by the racing associations.

• The Board approved a new rule requiring trainers to submit to Official or Racing Veterinarians the previous 30-day veterinary treatment records of horses shipping into California racing and training facilities. Dr. Rick Arthur, the CHRB equine medical director, explained that the new requirement will bring ship-ins on par with the strict regulations imposed on horses already on the grounds.

• Extensive public comments made during the meeting can be accessed immediately through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website. The written transcript for the meeting will be posted in May.

(CHRB)