San Luis Rey Horses: What Happens Now?

Del Mar photo

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As Southern California horsemen continue to recover in the aftermath of the Lilac Fire, which devastated San Luis Rey Downs training center and claimed the lives of 46 Thoroughbreds last Thursday, numerous Thoroughbreds previously stabled at the Bonsall, California facility have been relocated to Del Mar some 45 minutes to the south. In an effort to return to a sense of normalcy, Del Mar opened its main track for jogging Sunday, and was scheduled to be available for full training beginning Wednesday morning. That decision, according to Dr. Rick Arthur, full-time veterinary advisor to the California Horse Racing Board, was made because the vast majority of horses from San Luis Rey seem to be showing positive signs in the recovery process.

“Most of the injuries the veterinarians are dealing with are nicks, cuts and scratches, and those are pretty obvious,” said Arthur, who also serves as Medical Director at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. “The major concern is any problems associated with smoke inhalation–which aren't as obvious and are difficult to detect. Respiratory issues are more difficult to pick up.”

Arthur said that because different horses were exposed to different levels of trauma during the event, it is difficult to issue a blanket ruling about the status of entries in races. As such, horses from San Luis Rey will be permitted to compete this week at Los Alamitos, provided they pass a rigorous series of tests.

“We are going to allow horses that were there to race this week,” Arthur said. “But we're going to require a private veterinarian's certificate that they've examined the horse, including auscultation of the lungs and airway, and that they've found no evidence of respiratory problems. They'll be reexamined as part of the pre-race examination that will be a little different than our standard pre-race examination, because of the focus on the respiratory tract.”

Thursday's card at Los Alamitos has three horses who were based at San Luis Rey entered: two from the barn of Adam Kitchingman and one from the Doug O'Neill stable.

Kitchingman, speaking over the phone Tuesday, said his stable escaped from the fire with all horses accounted for, largely thanks to assistance from friends with a trailer. As of Tuesday morning, Knowitallhousewife (Tribal Rule) and Scathing (Grazen) were both scheduled to meet the starter Thursday.

“From what I can tell right now, they're both doing really good,” Kitchingman said. “There's no signs of coughing–they're eating well, their temperatures have been good and they're acting good. We'll find out when they race, but they're not showing any negative effects from what happened.”

As for discerning just how long a horse will feel the effects of smoke inhalation, Arthur stressed that each individual must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“It's quite variable, and it depends on the degree of smoke inhalation and the type of smoke inhalation,” Arthur explained. “If a horse was in a barn, for example, that had a plastic tub burning, it would be much different than a barn that just had some straw burning. It's very different–and it's the same thing with people, by the way. It is something that is quite variable, and that's one of the reasons we're trying to be flexible in our policy to race and train.”

Arthur added that he is encouraged by the fact that no horse that has been scoped or examined has shown obvious signs of distress associated with smoke inhalation. As long as the affected horse population remains at status quo, there is no reason to believe they will not be able to make a full recovery.

“From discussions with attending veterinarians, they really aren't seeing many respiratory problems,” Arthur said. “Some horses got out very early. Some horses got out even before the fire hit the track…Dr. [Tim] Grande was down at Del Mar over the weekend he saw very few signs, which would have been coughing or nasal discharge. The horses looked very good.”

Despite the fact that entries from San Luis Rey horses will be accepted, Arthur said he is advising horsemen to adopt a cautious approach in coming weeks. A greater set of training feedback would, in theory, provide further confirmation that the San Luis Rey horses are fit to return to competition.

“We've encouraged trainers to not run their horses until after Christmas, but we're leaving it up to them,” Arthur said. “We have provided them with information that the California Center for Equine Health put together for wildfires in Northern California, as well as other information from air pollutant specialists and people who manage fire injuries and smoke inhalation. We try to keep the veterinarians and horsemen informed.”

With significant time spent in the field tending to urgent matters in the preceding days, Arthur took a step back to consider the enormity of the racing industry's efforts to aid in the recovery process.

“It's been rather amazing, for such a mammoth and tragic disaster, how quickly the horses were relocated with the cooperation of everyone in the industry to get things back to normal as soon as possible.”

Kitchingman concurred, noting that from a horsemen's perspective, the outpouring of donations and assistance has been greatly appreciated.

“It's been absolutely amazing to see so many people rush to help,” Kitchingman said. “The compassion for the animals has been mind-blowing. It's been quite nice to see.”

 

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