18 Racehorses Died At Los Alamitos This Year, Track Must Make 'Significant Changes' Or Lose Racing License

CYPRESS, CA — Days after three race horses perished after racing at Los Alamitos Race Course on Sunday, officials have said they would comply with multiple reforms laid out by the California Horse Racing Board in order to keep their racing license. A total of 18 racehorses have died or been euthanized at the race course in 2025, including the three lost Sunday.

Backside Ace, a 2-year-old gelding running in his third race, finished third in Sunday's seventh race after being bumped at the start, but was later ambulanced off.

Champions Run, also a 2-year-old gelding who had eight career races, all at Los Alamitos, and one first-place finish, did not finish Sunday's eighth race and was also ambulanced off.

B Ratifyed, a 2-year-old filly with six career races, four in New Mexico, was injured in Sunday's fifth race, in which she finished eighth out of 10 horses. The official race chart said she "lacked response."

CHRB spokesman Mike Marten said required postmortem examinations would verify the precise nature of all three fatal injuries.

The track's owners received a letter Tuesday from the California Horse Racing Board, demanding "significant changes to its safety program" or the board would call an emergency meeting to possibly suspend its license.

"The CHRB (both staff and Commissioners) are profoundly concerned about the recent safety record at Los Alamitos, including the alarming catastrophic injuries that occurred this past weekend," CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney wrote to track President Cathy Allred, wife of owner Ed Allred, in a letter provided to City News Service.

"In fact, the concern is so great that the Chairman has suggested preparing a notice for an emergency Board meeting outlined in CHRB Rule 1435. As you know, this rule was created in the wake of the events of 2019 to give the Board both the authority and flexibility to suspend a track's license quickly based on a safety concern. ... Dr. (Jeff) Blea and I have spoken and plan to call that emergency meeting unless Los Alamitos makes significant changes to its safety program and the injuries decrease precipitously and quickly," the letter continued.

Track officials said they would meet the requirements, which include holding weekly meetings with state regulators.

"Los Alamitos Race Course management takes the safety and welfare of our equine athletes and humans with paramount urgency and will be implementing every measure listed on the California Horse Racing Board letter received on November 25," the track said in a statement later Tuesday.

"As early as Sunday night, November 23, Los Alamitos Race Course management began working with our medical and racing teams on installing even more strict measures and enhanced safety protocols to decrease equine injuries. Animal safety has always been our top priority, and it has become an even greater priority today.

"Track President Cathy Allred has been in contact with CHRB Executive Director C. Scott Chaney and will be part of the weekly meetings with the CHRB staff and Commissioners," the statement continued.

"Changes have been made, and further changes will be made to improve the safety of horses training and racing at Los Alamitos. We thank the California Horse Racing Board for its leadership, and we are prepared to work with its staff as we face this very important moment at Los Alamitos Race Course."

The CHRB's letter outlined the following steps, which Chaney said "should be taken as a minimum for reform, rather than a complete list."

• Add a second regulatory veterinarian for morning soundness examinations and entry panel review watch list examinations.
• Ensure there is an attending (private) veterinarian on the grounds in the stable area each night while racing is conducted.
• Purchase and/or utilize and staff a second equine ambulance for use during racing.
• Further restrict the use of IA injections, especially those that are close in time to racing and workouts.
• Hold weekly meetings with the CHRB staff and commissioners (as permitted under the law), the Equine Medical Director, a Steward, the Safety Steward, regulatory veterinarians, CHRB investigators, track management and any other personnel who may be helpful in identifying additional ways to reduce fatalities.

"With regard to the last point, CHRB will reach out to schedule the first of such meetings on Monday," the letter continued. "In addition to these actions, Los Alamitos should develop its own plan which incorporates your items for increasing the emphasis on safety. You can confirm that the CHRB items have been implemented as well as further details on Monday: Otherwise, the CHRB will begin the process outlined in rule 1435."

In addition to the 18 racing and training deaths in 2025, 11 other horses have died at Los Alamitos this year from what the CHRB classifies as "other" causes.

The Cypress track also saw 18 horses die from racing or training injuries in 2024.

The track was briefly placed on probation by the CHRB in 2020 due to a spate of racehorse deaths. Regulators later signed off on a plan to allow Los Alamitos to continue holding races after track officials agreed to add several layers of oversight, including adding another veterinarian to be a "roving observer of horses in training, while entering, exiting, or on the track," a "security steward" who oversees veterinary and barn practices, and an "entry review panel" of experts who have the authority to scratch horses for races.

California horse racing officials have taken a number of steps to try to reduce fatalities since 2019, when at least 42 deaths at Santa Anita Park sparked widespread debate about safety issues in the sport and even drew the attention of state lawmakers. Those changes include drug reforms, increased veterinary oversight and improvements to racing surfaces.

"No legitimate sport would tolerate the deaths of 60 of its athletes in 46 weeks of competition in just one state, California, not to mention 29 in a sole venue: Los Alamitos Race Course," said Martha Sullivan of the group Kill Racing Not Horses.

"... The veterinarian and trainer meetings about horse fatalities proffered as mitigation by Los Alamitos owner Cathy Allred, which have been done since Los Al was put on 10-day probation by the CHRB in July 2020, for excessive horse deaths, clearly aren't working," she added.