SCEF, Inc. owns, operates and offers these services in the following Equine Hospital Facilities at the racetracks in these locations:
| Santa Anita, CA | Hollywood Park, CA | Del Mar, CA |
|---|---|---|
Surgery | Surgery | Radiology |
The Southern California Equine Foundation’s foremost accomplishment is the building and operation of the Equine Hospital, located on the Santa Anita backstretch. Dedicated in March 1981 and constructed at a cost of $400,000, the facility became a reality through the cooperation of Santa Anita, which donated the land, and Oak Tree Racing Association, which was responsible for 80 percent of the funding. Aside from those in use at several universities, the facility was without equal.
According to Dr. Gregory Ferraro, one of SCEF’s original founders, it was the hope of the foundation to provide a first-rate, research-oriented facility to conduct studies, as well as an operational facility to care for the present-day equine athlete.
The Equine Hospital was an immediate success, as veterinarians from all sections of the country began using it. Many renowned veterinarians have performed surgeries in the well-equipped operating facility, developing new surgical techniques in the process.
Based on the success of the hospital at Santa Anita, in 1984 SCEF built a new hospital at Hollywood Park in time for the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup. Numerous donors provided funding for this facility, including Marge Everett (then CEO of Hollywood Park) and Dolly Green.
In 1990, when Dolly Green passed away, she generously named SCEF in her will. Those monies helped the Foundation build a Nuclear Scintigraphy facility at Santa Anita in 1993. Not only did veterinarians have the existing $75,000 radiology unit of the hospital available to them, they now had an alternative diagnostic tool useful in finding injuries that regular x-rays could not detect.
The SCEF added a surgical C-arm fluoroscope in 2002. This equipment allows surgeons to position drills and screws precisely using real-time radiography, avoiding time-consuming x-rays during orthopedic surgeries. Veterinarians have discovered that immediate, on-site repair of fractures greatly increases the chances of a racehorse’s recovery.
In late 2004, the Foundation, with the help of Oak Tree Racing Association and Dolly Green Research Foundation, acquired two computed radiography systems. These units, installed at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita, were the first of their kind in the U.S. (human or veterinary). They feature human mammography-quality images designed by FUJI Medical Systems.
Mammography-quality imaging is the high standard used in human medicine and is the finest imaging available in the radiographic community. The SCEF has, from its inception, provided such high-end radiographic quality imaging. SCEF's first "mammography quality" developing system was from Xerox, called "Xerography." When Kodak stepped to the forefront with a radiographic film/screen combination for mammography imaging, the SCEF once again led the veterinary world in converting to this progressive imaging system.
When computed/digital imaging first came on the market, the SCEF waited until this type of imaging reached "mammography" imaging standard. While other units available provide very good "field images," the SCEF is proud to continue to lead the veterinary community with its 50-micron Computed Radiographic Imaging system.
Because of these surgical facilities and diagnostic tools provided by SCEF to the Southern California racing community, veterinarians and the horsemen they serve have been able to return thoroughbreds to successful competition. Additionally, they have been able to save horses for stud duty, the broodmare band, or for future careers as show or riding horses.
