A raging thunderstorm that washed out activities on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs symbolised the dark clouds hanging over the Triple Crown after a troubling string of horse deaths.
Seven horses have died at the track since April 27, including Derby entrant Wild On Ice. Freezing Point and Chloe’s Dream were euthanised after injuries before Saturday’s Kentucky Derby that was ultimately won by Mage. Five sustained catastrophic leg injuries, while two succumbed suddenly from causes yet to be determined.
This spate of incidents comes four years after more than 30 horses died at Santa Anita racetrack in California. Those deaths shook up the industry and resulted in safety reforms such as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which established a similarly lettered organization that set uniform safety and doping rules for thoroughbreds. A set of regulations are scheduled to take effect on May 22.
The question for now is how the stunning occurrence of fatal injuries at the cathedral of horse racing affects the sport during its height of visibility with the Preakness and Belmont Stakes following over the next month. And, how horse racing responds.
“Everyone in the industry wants to make racing as safe as possible,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday. “And even in situations like that where right now everyone is doing everything they can to make sure the horses are going out there in the safest possible conditions, we still had two fatal breakdowns yesterday. It’s something as a trainer that keeps you up at night.”