Del Mar track management held an informal meeting the morning of July 22 to address the spike in injuries and fatal breakdowns during the first days of the California seaside oval’s summer season.

The meeting included several trainers and representatives from the Thoroughbred Owners of California, as well as the California Horse Racing Board’s chairman Richard Shapiro.

The group met informally in an effort to calm the concerns raised by both horsemen and racing fans since the seven-week season got underway on July 19. Unofficially, seven horses have been injured in the three racing days since the season began, with four euthanatized. Of the four losses, three occurred in the afternoon.

“We all have the same concerns,” said Joe Harper, Del Mar president and general manager. “Safety is the number one issue at Del Mar. Unfortunately the majority of catastrophic injuries are an accumulation over time, but we still need to identify the issues we need to be dealing with.”
Trainer Richard Mandella said that no one factor was responsible for the injuries