THE 2019 Breeders’ Cup will go ahead at Santa Anita on November 1st and 2nd, despite ongoing controversy at the Californian racetrack.

A high number of equine fatalities on the track since last winter, plus a strong line taken by racetrack management on raceday medication, led to speculation that the Breeders’ Cup could be moved to Churchill Downs this year.

However, a Breeders’ Cup directors meeting took place on Thursday and afterwards it was confirmed that Santa Anita in Los Angeles would hold the fixture for a 10th time.

Craig Fravel, president and CEO of the Breeders’ Cup, said: “Foremost among the core values of the Breeders’ Cup are the safety and integrity of the competition and we hold ourselves, our host sites and our competitors, to the highest standards of both.

“It is clear that effective and meaningful reforms and best practices have been implemented in recent months at Santa Anita, through the collective efforts of The Stronach Group, the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the California Thoroughbred Trainers, and the California Horse Racing Board.

“We fully embrace those reforms and will devote our time and energy in the coming months to further advance those efforts. We look forward to showing the world the best in thoroughbred racing at one of its finest venues.”

Racing at Santa Anita was halted for a couple of weeks in February and March after more than 20 horses had suffered fatal injuries either in races or morning exercise on the track. Many felt the racing surface was the to blame, following an extremely wet winter, but experts who examined the track could find no problem there.

Others believed that some trainers were at fault for giving horses too much medication so they could stand more racing.

There have been a handful of fatalities at Santa Anita in recent weeks and they have received major media coverage, given the problems of the past year. This led some observers to suggest that staging the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita this year would be too risky for the sport’s wider image.

Further fuel was added to the fire last week when Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was banned from Santa Anita. Four of his horses have died there since December 30th.

The Stronach Group said that Hollendorfer, who has won three Breeders’ Cup races, “is no longer welcome to stable, race or train his horses at any of our facilities”.