A 27th death occurs at Santa Anita; will Breeders' Cup move?

In reporting the 27th equine death as a result of racing or training at Santa Anita Park since Dec. 26, the Los Angeles Times' John Cherwa on Thursday also wrote it "could be a blow to Santa Anita’s hope of keeping the Breeders’ Cup."

The championships' board meets at the end of the month, and Churchill Downs officials have said they are available to host the races for a second year in a row in the event the Breeders' Cup moves.

Mike Willman, director of publicity at Santa Anita Park, confirmed that an un-raced 2-year-old named River Derby suffered a shoulder injury while galloping around 8 a.m. PT Wednesday and was euthanized Thursday after evaluated at a nearby clinic.

Ruben Gomez trained the recent $50,000 auction purchase. His barn also lost a 4-year-old filly named Derby Treasure as a result of injury in a Jan. 11 race at Santa Anita.

"He did have three recorded works here at Santa Anita, and this was just an absolutely routine gallop here yesterday morning," Willman said of River Derby. "The horse never went down, but he obviously went wrong."

While the death did not occur on track, a California Horse Racing Board spokesman told the L.A. times that the fatality will contribute to Santa Anita's total "in the interest of full transparency."

Following a rash of fatalities, and amid a national media crush of attention, Santa Anita halted racing in March to incorporate enhanced safety protocols that seemed to be paying off. According to track owner The Stronach Group, 698 starters went on the main track and 651 on turf from April 1 to May 18 without incident.

But now Santa Anita is back in the spotlight with River Derby's death the fourth in three weeks. Willman said that because River Derby breezed three times at Santa Anita, his connections had to apply for those works 48 hours in advance, and veterinary clearance was required for the drill, putting him through the newly required protocols.

"Zero (fatalities) is the goal, but apparently we're at 1.4 now for every 1,000 starts," Willman said. "Now, this was in training...but that's below the national average of 2.7.

"We had a terrible cluster early. We had almost seven weeks of clean racing and training. And now we've got trouble."

Kathy Guillermo, PETA's senior vice president, issued a statement saying her organization "will be investigating the circumstances" around River Derby's sale as a 2-year-old in training in Florida.

"PETA has exposed that very young horses are often whipped into running faster than they will ever again run at these auctions — risking their lives and often ruining their health," Guillermo said. "Derby River's death today at only 2 years old is yet another reason why people want to see an end to racing, but the least that must be done right now is for tracks to put scanning equipment in place to detect pre-existing leg and shoulder injuries and for measures to be taken to ensure that young horses aren't seriously injured before their bones are even mature."

At this week's Fasig-Tipton sale of 2-year-olds at Santa Anita Park, riders were not permitted to urge their mounts with the whip during the breeze show in a move that is gaining traction in the industry.

Santa Anita is scheduled to race Friday-Sunday through June 23 before the California circuit shifts to nearby Los Alamitos and then to Del Mar. Then it's back to Santa Anita in the fall.

"I know there's a lot of speculation out there, but the Breeders' Cup's due here November 1 and 2," Willman said. "We're already in the midst of some very serious planning, and we fully expect that the Breeders' Cup will be here this fall."

Breeders' Cup spokesman Jim Gluckson said that "to be consistent with Breeders’ Cup policy, we do not discuss host site matters or deliberations unless there is something to announce."

The championships' current board is composed of: Barbara Banke, Stonestreet Stables; Antony Beck, Gainesway Farm; William S. Farish, Jr., Lane’s End Farm; Craig Fravel, President & CEO of the Breeders’ Cup; Walker Hancock, Claiborne Farm;  Fred Hertrich (Chairman), Watercress Farm; Bret Jones, Airdrie Stud; Anthony Manganaro, Siena Farm; Clem Murphy, Coolmore Stud; Gavin Murphy, SF Bloodstock; Dan Pride, Godolphin; Mike Rogers, The Stronach Group; Alex Solis II, Solis/Litt Bloodstock and Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm.