LOS ANGELES – Kentucky Derby-winning trainers Bob Baffert and Doug O'Neill joined horse racing advocates rallying outside a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday in an effort to convince government officials to allow the resumption of live racing at Santa Anita.
Even behind a mask, the white-haired Baffert was easily recognizable as he carried a sign proclaiming, “We support horse racing.” His wife, Jill, toted one noting the economic impact of racing in California: $2.47 billion and 17,000 jobs.
O'Neill has previously helped stage rallies for backstretch workers outside Santa Anita to counter animal rights activists who have urged the end of racing in the state. “It was very nice to see them there,” Oscar De La Torre