Letters to the Editor: Horse racing is still a respectable sport

To the editor: The May 10 article indicts an entire industry and fails to credit California’s significantly improved safety record, which demonstrates how stringent regulatory reforms can effectively safeguard the well-being of horses.

Since these reforms went into effect in 2019, incidents of fatal injury in California have been reduced through measures such as enhanced monitoring practices, testing policies and significant investment in racing surfaces and diagnostic equipment. Taken together, California has laid out a clear blueprint for how we as an industry can prevent these senseless deaths.

Generating many jobs, horse racing is a beloved sport around the country; it is inclusive and accessible to communities of all ages, genders, and economic backgrounds.

Given California’s demonstrated success, it’s high time that the entire industry come together to support the implementation of uniform national regulations which will ensure the safety of horses on and off the track.

Amy Zimmerman, Sierra Madre

The author is with the California Horse Power Coalition.