2 horses die from training injuries at Los Alamitos

CYPRESS — Two more racehorses died at Los Alamitos Race Course over the weekend, bringing the number of racing and training deaths at the Cypress track to 15 this year, state officials confirmed.

Tame the Tiger, a 3-year-old gelding with three career races, was injured Saturday, according to the California Horse Racing Board. He had an official workout on the track’s dirt course that day, according to the industry website Equibase.

Cayce in Gray, a 2-year-old filly with no career races, was fatally injured Sunday.

No further details were available about the deaths, which the CHRB lists under the “muscoluskeletal” category.

In addition to the 15 racing and training deaths in 2025, 11 other horses have died at Los Alamitos this year from what the CHRB classifies as “other” causes.

Los Alamitos saw 18 horses die from racing or training injuries in 2024.

The track was briefly placed on probation by the CHRB in 2020 due to a spate of racehorse deaths. Regulators later signed off on a plan to allow Los Alamitos to continue holding races after track officials agreed to add several layers of oversight, including adding another veterinarian to be a “roving observer of horses in training, while entering, exiting, or on the track,” a “security steward” who oversees veterinary and barn practices, and an “entry review panel” of experts who have the authority to scratch horses for races.

Los Alamitos officials did not respond to a request for more information about the recent deaths.

California horse racing officials have taken a number of steps to try to reduce fatalities since 2019, when at least 42 deaths at Santa Anita Park sparked widespread debate about safety issues in the sport and even drew the attention of state lawmakers. Those changes include drug reforms, increased veterinary oversight and improvements to racing surfaces.