That’s it, I can’t take it anymore.

The equine deaths at Santa Anita Park — 22 since Dec. 26 — are tragic. No one disputes this. But the reaction to the tragedy has been, well, absurd.

“What has happened at Santa Anita over the last few weeks is beyond heartbreaking,” The Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita Park (among other tracks), said in a statement. “It is unacceptable — unacceptable to the public and, as people who deeply love horses, unacceptable to everyone at the Stronach Group and Santa Anita.”

The Stronach Group then announced that Santa Anita would be banning the use of drugs and whips on racing days. OK, fine… except that nearly half the deaths (10) have occurred during training. So, what’s the cure for that?

I’m all for measures to make racing safer. I just question how, exactly, these actions are going to do that.

The Cause of the Fatalities

After Santa Anita was closed the first time, a team of experts, including Dr. Rick Arthur, chief equine veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), was brought in to find some answers.

What they found was more questions.

“[The injuries] are all over the place, from Battle of Midway, a well-seasoned horse, to a first-time starter,” Arthur told the Chicago Tribune. “They are from 19 different trainers. There is nothing that links them together.”

Nothing except whips and race-day drugs, I guess.

Hey, I get it. The Stronach Group is trying to be proactive, but there is a difference between moving quickly to get out in front of an issue and being reckless. What The Stronach Group is doing is reckless — and that’s why I can’t take it anymore, especially when I see racing fans going along with the insanity.

Don’t get me wrong: I have never been in favor of drugs in racing and I don’t see a huge problem with banning whips (except as a safety measure) either. In fact, in an open letter to the media, Belinda Stronach, chairman and president of The Stronach Group, noted that Santa Anita’s newest mandates “comprise best practices currently employed at racetracks around the world.”

I have no doubt this is true — there are more racehorses running on Lasix in the United States than the rest of the world combined and numerous studies have documented that drug’s diuretic properties, which some believe have led to increased fragility in the breed.

But focusing on these issues now, in the wake of the catastrophic events at Santa Anita, is nothing short of irresponsible.

Public Relations Over Rationality

Does anybody with functioning gray matter truly believe that Lasix and the use of whips is what led to the deaths at the Great Race Place? If so, please explain to me why just Santa Anita. After all, whips are used everywhere and Lasix nearly everywhere (it is estimated that about 95 percent of all US thoroughbreds race on the medication), so why is there a disproportionate number of fatalities at the Southern California facility?

While you’re pondering that, let me ask another question: Why have we seen so many breakdowns on the grass? Multiple studies have shown that turf races are far safer than dirt races, yet, at Santa Anita, there have been five equine deaths on the grass (from 123 races) and seven on the main track (from 369 races).

Do the math.

Are drugs and whips more deleterious on the lawn?

I apologize for the snarky tone here (not really), but it really irritates me that good people are being impugned thanks to a poorly conceived public relations gambit. I have my issues with the horse racing industry — I have a lot of issues with it, actually — but I don’t doubt for a second that the majority of people that work on the backside love the animals they care for.

Some Perspective

According to Jockey Club statistics, 9,298 horses died in racing-related accidents from 2009-15 — that’s about 1,300 a year. Care to guess how many cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters each year? Try 1.5 million. And that’s only cats and dogs in shelters— you know, those places where, each week, approximately 23,000 unlucky felines and canines wind up because they’ve become inconvenient to their owners.

Now, I know many will accuse me of deflection here. What does it matter that more cats and dogs die than horses, they will argue? It’s about the humane treatment of animals.

But is it?

I heard scarcely a peep when nearly 200 horses died from thirst and starvation in Cameron, Arizona last year. A Navajo Nation spokesperson made no mention of whips and Lasix — possibly, because no studies were done to determine that was the cause of death (not that such studies are needed, of course, an “open letter” will suffice).

Likewise, I saw no reaction to proposed new regulations aimed at radically reducing the wild horse population, which, by the way, is exactly where many thoroughbreds would undoubtedly wind up should racing be banned. And make no mistake: That is the end game of many who claim that horse racing is inhumane.

Look, we all want to see the Santa Anita situation rectified. But let’s actually fix it instead of tossing out red herrings.