Under a no-cost-to-the-owner, voluntary program approved by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) utilizing federal grants, microchips have been implanted in almost 500 Thoroughbreds at Southern California racetracks over the last two months for health, security, and inventory purposes, and there is sufficient funding for another 3,500 horses, or roughly a third of the Thoroughbreds that race in Southern California during any 12-month period.

The director of the pilot program, Dr. Amy Nevens, implanted the first chips July 12 at Hollywood Park in the barns of Richard and Gary Mandella. Since then, dozens of other trainers and owners have participated in the program.

The microchip, which is the size of a grain of rice, is implanted at the crest of the neck just below the mane, the internationally recognized microchip implantation site. The microchip implantation procedure only takes a few seconds; confirming the identity of the horse prior to microchipping takes most of the time, though no more than a few minutes. Only one person from the stable is needed to assist Dr. Nevens with the procedure.

There have been no problems in the 500 horses implanted to date. This mimics the experience of Dr. Gregory Ferraro at the University of California, Davis, who has used microchips for several years to identify and track horses at the Center for Equine Health