New rules enhance harness racing safety

Michael Roknick, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 2—STONEBORO — The Great Stoneboro Fair won over new Pennsylvania horse racing regulations by more than a nose, said the head of a horse racing organization.

"You just don't see problems with harness racing with the new rules," said Rich Gillock, president of the Standardbred Association of Western Pennsylvania before the fair's first harness race began Thursday evening.

With 800 members, the organization represents horse breeding farms and the harness racing industry.

Over the past two years state horse racing regulations gained attention nationwide due to two California race tracks. Nearly 50 horse deaths were recorded at Santa Anita Park in a 12-month stretch between 2018 and 2019.

Then in 2020 nearly 30 horses died in 2020 at Los Alamitos, a Cypress, Calif. racetrack. Both tracks run traditional thoroughbred races, which is different than standardbred harness racing.

California enacted new laws to protect race horses. Among them include boosting the state's Horse Racing Board authority to suspend track licenses and stricter rules for veterinarians to monitor race horses.

"Harness racing in the state has very few injuries," Gillock, who owns harness racing horses and runs a horse farm in Belle Vernon, Pa., said. He blamed the California horse fatalities on the thoroughbred race tracks which have a different base than harness race tracks.

Also, the drought hitting California caused those tracks to become much harder which compounded the difficulties.

Still, the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission responded with tighter racing requirements that became effective March 1.

Among the new regulations were creating an equine fatality database. Thoroughbred fatalities totaled 30 from April 1 to June 30 in 2021, and 17 this year through July 15. There were 10 at Parx Racing in Philadelphia, five at Penn National in Dauphin County, and two at Presque Isle Downs in Erie County.

"Those are things we can look at," said Bob Lark, a West Middlesex resident who serves on the state commission. Lark viewed the fair's Thursday night harness races.

Harness race horse owners in the state, Gillock said, are protective of their most vital asset — the horses.

"We take care of them like they were one of our kids," he said.

This was the fair's first evening harness races in about 30 years, Lark said. Fair managers wanted to entice more people to the races by holding one set of races in the evening. In the recent past races were held only during the day. The Great Stoneboro Fair's harness races end Friday afternoon.

"It's good to see racing back at night," Lark said.