The Santa Anita Park racetrack has been closed since March 5 in the wake of 22 horse deaths since December. All of the horses were euthanized as a result of injuries sustained while training or racing.

It’s still not known what caused the deaths, although experts believe a combination of a heavily used track and higher-than-normal rainfall likely played a role.

Another question many people have been asking is, why couldn’t any of the horses be saved?

CJ Marinaccio is a thoroughbred trainer. She’s spent most of her life around horses. Including 10 years working at the Santa Anita Race track; six years as an assistant trainer and four as a vet tech in the hospital.

Today she's walking a horse named "Mighty Mo" down a path at the Birtwick Park Equestrian Center in Canyon Country.

“Mo looks good today. But his care for the last year has been really intensive,” she said.

Four years ago she created a non-profit organization called Win Place Home. Through the organization she offers former racehorses, many of whom have been injured on the track, a temporary home to be rehabilitated and re-trained for pleasure riding or retirement. 

Mighty Mo is one of six horses she's currently nursing back to health.  He broke his left leg while racing, but wasn’t put down.

"He broke his leg while racing but wasn't put down. Because of the type of break, the surgeon that decided to perform surgery on him thought that he would be able to fix it with screws, even though the chance of survival after surgery wasn't great," said Marinaccio. "Everybody wanted to give him the opportunity to try."

When a horse breaks its leg, it's oftentimes considered a catastrophic injury. Because horses literally can't survive without being able to stand and walk. And because of their weight, it's difficult for them to heal properly, which can lead to a long and agonizing process that will eventually lead to death.

That's why they're put down quickly.

“I worked at Santa Anita for years and I've seen a lot of horses hurt themselves. And I know that the decision to put a horse down is not a decision that any person, owner, or trainer takes lightly," said Marinaccio.

"So the 22 horses that had to be put down at the at Santa Anita, I know that each one of them, you know, broke some part of their leg and it wasn't as easy to fix as it was for Mighty Mo here. It was devastating.”

She receives some of the funding to help rehabilitate horses like Mighty Mo through the California Retirement Management Account.  It’s a charitable program that’s supported by the racing industry for California-raced thoroughbred horses that can no longer compete.

Currently, she’s training another retired horse in the rink who she's helped re-train.

“This is Dream Police," she said. "He came to us from CARMA and he raced 27 times. He was a big, big champion racehorse. He loves to jump now, and he's ready to be adopted by the right person.”

Marinaccio's organization is one of 23 after care facilities that CARMA uses as a safe way to transition an injured or retiring horse into the next phase of its life.

Mighty Mo will be getting the pins taken out of his legs in a few weeks and then Marinaccio will help him get back on track so that he can be adopted by someone who will take them into the next phase of his life.