The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is planning to expand its well-regarded equine postmortem examination program into part of a new racetrack injury prevention plan in conjunction with the University of California, Davis (UC Davis).

During a meeting of the CHRB’s Medication and Track Safety Committee April 8 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., executive director Kirk Breed reported that the agency could spend $1 million per year for additional staff at UC Davis to develop and administer the program.

In addition to making better use of the data collected over the past 20 years on horse fatalities at California tracks, the program will also adopt new standards for safer racing surfaces using updated methods of measure, and take a harder stance against repeat offenders of the state’s medication rules.

Under the existing track surface safety standards, "we have not significantly reduced injuries and fatalities to racehorses in the past 20 years," Breed said