Talking Horses: fatalities may force Breeders’ Cup switch from Santa Anita
Breeders’ Cup officials meet to decide whether to switch the meeting from Santa Anita after a sudden spate of fatal injuries
The board of the Breeders’ Cup will meet on Thursday with a decision seemingly imminent on whether to switch this year’s $28m two-day meeting, which is scheduled for 1 and 2 November, away from troubled Santa Anita Park to Churchill Downs in Kentucky, which hosted the event last year.
Preparations to hold the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in just over four months have been continuous since it was awarded the event for a record 10th time in August 2018. The track is one of the most famous and historic in world racing, has an unforgettable setting beneath the San Gabriel mountains near Los Angeles and has been talked about in the past as a possible permanent home for the Breeders’ Cup.