Santa Anita Park Cancels All Live Racing In Response To COVID-19
ARCADIA (CBSLA) - Santa Anita Park, which has seen dozens of horses die while racing or training at the park in the last 18 months, announced Friday it will close down in response to COVID-19.
The park initially announced it would close to the public March 12, including all non-essential personnel, but racing continued at the track.
But shortly before post time Friday, the track made the announcement with no specific timeline to return:
"In accordance with instructions received from Los Angeles County Health Department, Santa Anita Park will temporarily close for live racing effective immediately in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We apologize for the late notice affecting today's racing program, but Santa Anita is abiding by the instructions issued this morning by the California Horse Racing Board to operate under the sanction of the local health authorities."