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Derby Entrant Is Scratched as Four Horse Deaths Renew Safety Concerns
Derby Entrant Is Scratched as Four Horse Deaths Renew Safety Concerns
Posted May 4, 2023 8:32 p.m. EDT
Updated May 5, 2023 8:56 a.m. EDT
By Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert, New York Times
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two days before horse racing’s signature event, officials Thursday threw a horse out of the Kentucky Derby under a cloud of suspicion after two of his trainer’s horses collapsed and died without explanation in the past week.
The ejected horse, Lord Miles, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was scratched by state stewards in a highly unusual move just hours after the trainer declared he would scratch all of his horses entered in races at Churchill Downs except his Derby entrant. Two other horses, not trained by Joseph, also died in the past week after sustaining leg injuries, including a colt who was also scheduled to run in the Derby, prompting an investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission into the causes of all the deaths.
Joseph’s banishment from the Derby and from all tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. follows a hard line set by the trak in 2021 after a colt trained by Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit, failed a drug test after finishing first in the Derby. When the results became known, Medina Spirit was disqualified, and Baffert was barred from the Derby and tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. for two years.
Horse racing is fighting for its life as animal rights activists call for its end at the same time that waning interest from gambling has put it on the losing side of a battle with sports betting.
{snip}
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Posted May 4, 2023 8:32 p.m. EDT
Updated May 5, 2023 8:56 a.m. EDT
By Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert, New York Times
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two days before horse racing’s signature event, officials Thursday threw a horse out of the Kentucky Derby under a cloud of suspicion after two of his trainer’s horses collapsed and died without explanation in the past week.
The ejected horse, Lord Miles, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was scratched by state stewards in a highly unusual move just hours after the trainer declared he would scratch all of his horses entered in races at Churchill Downs except his Derby entrant. Two other horses, not trained by Joseph, also died in the past week after sustaining leg injuries, including a colt who was also scheduled to run in the Derby, prompting an investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission into the causes of all the deaths.
Joseph’s banishment from the Derby and from all tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. follows a hard line set by the trak in 2021 after a colt trained by Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit, failed a drug test after finishing first in the Derby. When the results became known, Medina Spirit was disqualified, and Baffert was barred from the Derby and tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. for two years.
Horse racing is fighting for its life as animal rights activists call for its end at the same time that waning interest from gambling has put it on the losing side of a battle with sports betting.
{snip}
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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