Churchill Downs cancels races after 12 horses died in six weeks

Churchill Downs has suspended the racing operations at the track for the remainder of the 2023 Spring Meet following the deaths of 12 horses during the past six weeks. 

Live racing will take place as scheduled this weekend on June 3 and 4 but following Sunday’s activity the track will go dark. 

The Spring Meet, which runs through July 3, will be relocated to Ellis Park, following multiple emergency meetings in Louisville this week. 

Races for next Wednesday through Friday have been canceled and won’t be made up with Ellis Park taking over the remainder on June 10. 

The races at Ellis Park will have the same conditions and purse money that they would’ve at Churchill Downs, while trainers and jockeys will receive a stipend for extra costs, according to WLKY. 

Churchill Downs suspended racing operations for the remainder of the Spring Meet

Racing will take place as scheduled on June 3 and 4 but the track will then go dark 

The announcement comes after 12 horses have died at the track since April with officials yet to be able to identify a commonality between the deaths. 

Horse racing’s oversight authority and Churchill Downs each announced additional safety and health measures Thursday. 

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will conduct additional post-entry screening of horses to identify those at increased risk for injury. It will also direct its Integrity and Welfare Unit to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities for use while investigating a cause.

Earlier Thursday, Churchill Downs announced it would immediately limit horses to four starts during a rolling eight-week period and impose ineligibility standards for poor performers.

HISA’s second independent analysis of Churchill Downs’ training and racing surfaces, conducted by track superintendent Dennis Moore, continues with results to be made public upon completion.

The dual announcements came just before Churchill Downs’ spring meet resumed after several days of meetings during an emergency summit convened by HISA to examine the troubling spate of deaths. All but two deaths have been attributed to racing or training leg injuries. The other two are from unknown causes, but all are being investigated by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and HISA.

The summit included the KHRC, HISA and Churchill Downs.

Seven horses were dead before the Kentucy Derby which was run in Louisville

HISA called the dialogue productive in its release and added that conclusions from the summit have been shared directly with key stakeholders to inform next steps.

‘While no obvious or specific pattern emerged, HISA welcomes Churchill Downs´ efforts announced earlier today to minimize risk of equine fatalities,’ the release added.

Additionally, HISA said equine forensics specialist Alina Vale will conduct thorough review of all necropsies performed on covered horses. Vale performed postmortem reviews as an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board following a spate of fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.

Churchill Downs’ other initiatives include pausing incentives, such as trainer start bonuses and purse payouts to every race finisher, with payouts limited to the top five finishers. Churchill Downs officials say they’ll continue talks with horsemen to determine how to allocate funds.

A release from Churchill Downs stated that California-based equine surgeon Ryan Carpenter presented trainers and veterinarians with information and tools about advanced interventions for certain injuries. Churchill Downs’ equine medical director, Will Farmer, said there was ‘a duty’ to offer information from someone who experienced similar challenges recently in California.

He said in the release that decisions regarding the long-term well being of horses must be first and foremost. ‘It is imperative that all available, educated and informed options can be efficiently, confidently and thoroughly relayed to the owners.’

Cox said he did ‘a lot of listening’ at the meeting and left it at that.

Saffie Joseph Jr. was suspended by Churchill Downs ahead of the Kentucky Derby after the shocking deaths of two of his horses within a 71-hour span of each other

‘I think Churchill is trying to dot every I and cross every T,’ the trainer said during a NTRA teleconference. ‘It´s been a lot of stuff happening since the meet began and hopefully we´re kind of coming to the end of this.’

Churchill Downs’ ineligibility measure impacts horses losing by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts. They cannot race at Churchill Downs until approved by Farmer to return.

Seven horses died in the days leading up to the 149th Kentucky Derby on May 6, including two on the undercard. Five horses have died since then, including two 7-year-olds last weekend from similar leg injuries.

HISA veterinary teams reviewed information and analysis on Tuesday. Moore began a second independent analysis of Churchill Downs’ training and racing surfaces on Wednesday.