By T. D. Thornton
United States Representative Andy Barr (R-KY), who co-chairs the Congressional Horse Caucus and is a co-sponsor of the Horseracing Integrity Act of 2019, will reportedly tour Santa Anita Park this weekend in an effort to learn more about the circumstances surrounding 23 equine deaths at the track since the start of the meet on Dec. 26.
The Washington D.C. news bureau of McClatchy.com on Thursday first reported news of Barr's Santa Anita visit, noting that it was added on to the Congressman's previously scheduled trip to take part in a fundraiser at the Beverly Hills Peninsula hotel hosted by a political action committee that benefits Barr called Building America's Republican Representation (AKA “Barr-PAC”).
A Thursday email sent by TDN to Barr's communications director requesting confirmation and details about the Santa Anita visit did not yield a reply in time for deadline for this story.
McClatchy reported that Barr's visit will include a meeting with officials from The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita. The story also reported that Barr “agrees with” Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) that there needs to be a Congressional review about the deaths.
“We're going to do some fact finding and learn a little bit more about the perspectives of what happened out there and what they're doing to take remedial action,” Barr told McClatchy. “A lot of our constituents in Kentucky race their horses out there and there are a lot of ties.”
McClatchy reported that “Barr stopped short of joining Chu and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-CA), who have called for the suspension of horse racing at the park until investigators determine the cause of the deaths.”
Referencing the Horseracing Integrity Act bill that was introduced Mar. 14, Barr told McClatchy that “Anything we can do to make the sport safer and eliminate doping, we need to do that, because doping is unsafe for the equine athlete and the human athlete. The industry obviously has a challenge right now and we want the perception of the sport and the reality of the sport to be safe and we want to eliminate any factors that could contribute to more deaths.”
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