Evidence of improved safety over the years does horse racing little good after nights like last Sunday, when three quarter horses sustained fatal injuries at Los Alamitos, the incidents occurring in three separate dashes in a 90-minute span.
The horses were were 2-year-olds competing in 400-yard trials for the Dec. 14 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity: The winless filly B Ratifyed was hurt while finishing eighth in race 5. The winless gelding Backside Ace left the track in the equine ambulance after finishing third in race 7. The gelding Champions Run was pulled up early in the race 8 and left in the ambulance.
Since the California Horse Racing Board began reporting horse deaths at the start of 2020, this is the first time three horses have died from injuries during a single racing card at any of the state’s tracks. Two died on a single day or night four other times. Three were at Los Alamitos, one at Santa Anita.
Determining the specifics and likely causes of the injuries will be the object of postmortem examinations. Meanwhile, the racing board has reacted firmly, demanding enhanced veterinary measures and restrictions on injections at Los Alamitos and reminding management of the Orange County track about CHRB Rule 1435, which empowers it to suspend a race-meeting license out of safety concerns.
CHRB executive director Scott Chaney, in a letter to Los Alamitos president Cathy Allred, said an emergency board meeting will be called “unless Los Alamitos makes significant changes to its safety program and the injuries decrease precipitously and quickly.”
Los Alamitos said in a statement it will implement the measures the board called for.
“Animal safety has always been our top priority, and it has become an even greater priority today,” the statement Tuesday read in part.
From the start of the California racing season on Dec. 26, 2024, through last Sunday, 18 horses have died from musculoskeletal injuries or other causes in racing and training at Los Alamitos, more than in the same span in any of the previous four years at that track.
In the same Dec. 26-Nov. 23 period, the 11 deaths in racing and training at Santa Anita are the fewest in the past five years there, and the four deaths at Del Mar equal the fewest in the past five years there. The total of 33 deaths in racing and training at the three Southern California tracks is one fewer than either of the previous two years but nearly two more than the average for the previous four years.
It’s the spikes in fatalities, rather than long trends, that grab attention, prompt action and can produce improvements. That was true when more than 40 horses died at Santa Anita during a winter of unusually sustained wet weather in early 2019. That’s got to be true now.
Better overall safety records don’t, and shouldn’t, protect racetracks from scrutiny when bodies suddenly pile up.
DEL MAR’S BIG FINISH
The Del Mar fall meet ends this weekend with the three-day Turf Festival, a Thanksgiving Week tradition born at Hollywood Park that features a half-dozen graded stakes on grass. Horses from back east have dominated Saturday’s Hollywood Derby and Sunday’s Matriarch, shipping in for the only American Grade I races on turf in the eight weeks following the Breeders’ Cup.
That almost didn’t happen this time. FedEx announced Tuesday that it was temporarily suspending flights for horses, a result of MD-11 freighters being grounded after a UPS plane crashed after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 4, killing 14 people.
As it turned out, the only California-bound horse who didn’t get a flight in time was New York-based Noble Confessor, who has been scratched from the Del Mar Derby. The invading forces still look strong.
Looking best in the eight-horse Del Mar Derby field is Graham Motion-trained Test Score (Juan Hernandez riding), the Grade I Belmont Derby winner who actually has already been in California, taking the Twilight Derby at Santa Anita. Salamis (Umberto Rispoli) is in from New York to try to give trainer Chad Brown his fifth win in 10 years in this race. Michael McCarthy’s Maaz (Ricardo Gonzalez) leads the home team.
A competitive Matriarch, for fillies and mares, has 4-year-old Segesta (Flavien Prat) seeking Brown’s seventh win in nine years, 4-year-old Ozara (Antonio Fresu) trying for Miguel Clement’s first, and Ag Bullet (John Velazquez) stretching back out to 1 mile for Santa Anita-based Richard Baltas.
DERBY COUNTDOWN
With the Breeders’ Cup behind us, official future wagering on the May 2 Kentucky Derby gets more serious this week, with tempting odds available for 39 individual horses plus an “all others” option in betting from Thursday through Sunday.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Ted Noffey is the 6-1 favorite on the future-bet morning line, followed by 10-1 Brant, 20-1 Blackout Time and Further Ado, and 30-1 Mr. A. P., My World and Napoleon Solo.
Bob Baffert trains two of the 13 horses listed at 40-1 or lower: Brant and 40-1 Boyd. Brad Cox also has two: Further Ado and My World.
“All others” is 9-5 on the morning line, reflecting the uncertainty in trying to narrow down contention more than 150 days before a race.
ONES TO WATCH
Baffert-trained Cherokee Nation (Flavien Prat riding), still a maiden and 99-1 in the future bet, faces Further Ado (Irad Ortiz Jr.) and five others in the $400,000, Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The 1-1/16-mile race is the first Kentucky Derby qualifying points races since the Breeders’ Cup.
Friday at Churchill, Hit Show (Irad Ortiz Jr.) is a slim morning-line favorite in the $600,000, Grade II Clark Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 1⅛ miles against 2024 winner Rattle N Roll (Brian Hernandez Jr.), 3-year-old Magnitude (Jose Ortiz) and six others.
Follow horse racing correspondent Kevin Modesti at X.com/KevinModesti.
DEL MAR LEADERS
Through Sunday
Jockeys / Wins
Umberto Rispoli / 14
Antonio Fresu / 11
Mirco Demuro / 10
Armando Ayuso / 9
Hector Berrios / 8
Tiago Pereira / 7
Juan Hernandez / 7
Trainers / Wins
George Papaprodromou / 9
John Sadler / 7
Doug O’Neill / 7
Bob Baffert / 6
Steve Knapp / 6
Bob Hess Jr. / 5
Phil D’Amato / 4
UPCOMING STAKES
DEL MAR
Friday
• $200,000, Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup, 3-year-olds and up, 1½ miles on turf
Saturday
• $300,000, Grade I Hollywood Derby, 3-year-olds, 1⅛ miles on turf
• $200,000, Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/16 miles on turf
• $100,000, Grade III Jimmy Durante Stakes, 2-year-old fillies, 1 mile on turf
Sunday
• $300,000, Grade I Matriarch Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and up, 1 mile on turf
• $100,000, Grade III Bayakoa Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and up, 1 mile
• $100,000, Grade III Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, 2-year-olds, 1 mile on turf
• $100,000 Stormy Liberal Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, 5 furlongs on turf