LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A raging thunderstorm washed out activities Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.
It was fitting weather, considering the dark clouds hanging over thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown series after a troubling string of horse deaths, including two on Saturday in races leading up to the Kentucky Derby won by Mage.
Seven horses have died at the Louisville track since April 27, the day Wild On Ice was injured while training for the Derby. Chloe’s Dream and Freezing Point were euthanized after injuries in the second and eighth races, respectively, on Derby Day. Five of the seven horses sustained catastrophic leg injuries, while two succumbed suddenly from causes yet to be determined.
This spate of incidents comes four years after more than 30 horses died at Santa Anita Park, a California track and frequent host of the Breeders’ Cup. Those deaths shook up the industry and resulted in safety reforms such as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which established a similarly lettered organization that set uniform safety and doping rules for thoroughbreds. A set of regulations are scheduled to take effect May 22.
The question for now is how the stunning occurrence of fatal injuries at the cathedral of horse racing affects the sport during its height of visibility, with the final two legs of the Triple Crown still ahead — the Preakness Stakes is May 20 at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course and the Belmont Stakes is June 10 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York — and in particular, how those within the sport respond.