The suspension of racing at Arizona Downs is unfortunate. Turf Paradise supports year round racing and had hoped Arizona Downs would find success because year round racing is good for the horse racing industry. Arizona Downs’ attempts to blame Turf Paradise for its failure to secure financing from a business partner are false.

Monarch Content Management does not wish to provide its signals to Off Track Betting outlets currently operated by Arizona Downs because in most cases the Arizona Downs OTB locations are in the vicinity of existing OTB’s and Monarch feels it would cannibalize the markets.  Monarch has stated there is nowhere in the country where that has been successful and believes neither Turf Paradise nor Arizona Downs would succeed under those circumstances.

Monarch provides signals from 15 of the top tracks in the country including Santa Anita, Del Mar, Golden Gate Fields, and Gulf Stream Park.

Turf Paradise General Manager Vincent Francia said, “This dispute began between Monarch and Arizona Downs and needs to be resolved by them. Arizona Downs needs to take responsibility for their own failings rather than blame Turf Paradise and for causing this unnecessary hardship for Arizona horsemen.”

Turf Paradise opened its doors in in 1956 and has been at 19th Ave. and Bell Road ever since making it Arizona’s first sports franchise.

Phoenix-based Turf Paradise, Arizona’s largest horseracing track, saw racing related equine fatalities fall by nearly 40% during the season that ended May 3rd.

During the 2017/18 meet there were 7,452 starts and 23 thoroughbred racing related equine fatalities. During the 2018/19 meet there were 7,050 starts and 14 thoroughbred fatalities. That’s 1.99 per one thousand starts which is dramatically down from 3.09 per thousand starts in 2017/18. The national average is 1.68.

The sharp decline followed the implementation of a series of protocols including pre-race veterinarian inspection of all horses on every live race day. Those exams began in February and continued through the end of the season.
In the 2017/18 race meet there were there were 5 fatalities in February, 7 in March and 2 in April. For the 2018/19 meet there was 1 fatality in February, zero in March and 1 in April.
Other measures taken include:

• Trainer review of necropsy report following a fatality.
• Track veterinarian review of horses while in the paddock, during warm-ups, gate loading and post-race exams.
• Twice monthly testing of sand to dirt ratio balance on the main track.

A panel of experts also carefully reviewed safety protocols.  The Equine Wellness Committee composed of the Director of the Division of Racing, track and state veterinarians, the AzHBPA and the general managers of the State’s three race tracks met monthly to review data and make recommendations. Academic and private sector statisticians also reviewed horse injury statistics to spot any trends. That review is ongoing.

Turf Paradise General Manager Vincent Francia said, “The protocols we initiated this season were a collaborative effort of Turf, the Arizona Division of Racing and the Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (AzHBPA). We are encouraged by the results, to have reduced fatalities by almost 40%. However, the goal is zero fatalities. The Committee is reviewing additional protocols.”

Turf Paradise opened its doors in in 1956 and has been at 19th Ave. and Bell Road ever since making it Arizona’s first sports franchise.

Turf Paradise remains hopeful that a new Arizona law, HB2547, will be invalidated in federal court.
​A request for a temporary injunction will soon be filed by the Phoenix-based track. That’s because HB2547 is a violation of federal law. Both Turf Paradise and Monarch Content Management which supplies such tracks as Santa Anita, Del Mar, Gulfstream Park, Pimlico, Laurel Park, Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos, Meadowlands, and Tampa Bay Downs will be challenging this law in federal court.
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Hopefully, the courts will do what the State of Arizona failed to do and that is stand up for horse racing in Arizona and respect federal law. Without this relief signals from these tracks will stop in 90 days and all horse racing in Arizona will be imperiled as critical signals from these horse racing tracks across the country are withdrawn for all tracks in the state.