Sixth horse dies at Churchill Downs ahead of Kentucky Derby

The death count at Churchill Downs grew to six in a week and a half when Chloe’s Dream, a 3-year-old gelding, was injured in a maiden race, vanned off the track and then euthanized.

There were no details of the exact cause of the injury.

It was yet another black cloud over a sport that has been wrestling with safety and perception issues. In addition to the six deaths, a trainer was suspended because of two of the deaths and five horses were scratched from the Kentucky Derby.

The incident occurred in the second race, a $120,000 maiden race. Chloe’s Dream had run once previously at Gulfstream Park in Florida and finished third. He was trained by Jeff Hiles and ridden by Corie Lanerie.

The first death was a week ago Thursday when Wild on Ice was injured while training and taken to an equine hospital in Lexington, where he was euthanized.

Last Saturday, two horses died. Parents Pride, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was pulled up in the stretch and died on the track. In California, such an incident would be referred to as “sudden death” pending a necropsy. Later, in the paddock, Code of Kings flipped over twice and broke his neck.

There were two more deaths on Tuesday. Take Charge Briana broke down in the stretch and was subsequently euthanized. Chasing Artie, also trained by Joseph, finished her race and collapsed near the winner’s circle.

Churchill Downs acknowledged four of the deaths and issued a statement.

“While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable,” the statement read. “We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed. We feel a tremendous responsibility to our fans, the participants in our sport and the entire industry to be a leader in safety and continue to make significant investments to eliminate risk to our athletes. We have full confidence in our racing surfaces and have been assured by our riders and horsemen that they do as well.”

On Thursday, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in conjunction with Churchill Downs suspended Joseph indefinitely while it explores the nature of the deaths. It caused Lord Miles to be scratched out of the Kentucky Derby.

On Saturday morning, early favorite Forte was scratched after the state veterinarian watched the horse gallop.

The death count at Churchill Downs grew to six in a week and a half when Chloe’s Dream, a 3-year-old gelding, was injured in a maiden race, vanned off the track and then euthanized.

There were no details of the exact cause of the injury.

It was yet another black cloud over a sport that has been wrestling with safety and perception issues. In addition to the six deaths, a trainer was suspended because of two of the deaths and five horses were scratched from the Kentucky Derby.

The incident occurred in the second race, a $120,000 maiden race. Chloe’s Dream had run once previously at Gulfstream Park in Florida and finished third. He was trained by Jeff Hiles and ridden by Corie Lanerie.

The first death was a week ago Thursday when Wild on Ice was injured while training and taken to an equine hospital in Lexington, where he was euthanized.

Last Saturday, two horses died. Parents Pride, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was pulled up in the stretch and died on the track. In California, such an incident would be referred to as “sudden death” pending a necropsy. Later, in the paddock, Code of Kings flipped over twice and broke his neck.

There were two more deaths on Tuesday. Take Charge Briana broke down in the stretch and was subsequently euthanized. Chasing Artie, also trained by Joseph, finished her race and collapsed near the winner’s circle.

Churchill Downs acknowledged four of the deaths and issued a statement.

“While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable,” the statement read. “We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed. We feel a tremendous responsibility to our fans, the participants in our sport and the entire industry to be a leader in safety and continue to make significant investments to eliminate risk to our athletes. We have full confidence in our racing surfaces and have been assured by our riders and horsemen that they do as well.”

On Thursday, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in conjunction with Churchill Downs suspended Joseph indefinitely while it explores the nature of the deaths. It caused Lord Miles to be scratched out of the Kentucky Derby.

On Saturday morning, early favorite Forte was scratched after the state veterinarian watched the horse gallop.