LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A twelfth horse has died at Churchill Downs since the stable area reopened for training on March 30.
According to Churchill Downs, Kimberley Dream, sustained a significant injury to her left front leg in Saturday's first race. The veterinarian on sight examined the injury and determined it was inoperable, and made the decision to euthanize the horse.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority are investigating the horse deaths.
Churchill Downs released the following statement regarding the rise in horse deaths:
We do not accept this as suitable or tolerable and share the frustrations of the public, and in some
cases, the questions to which we do not yet have answers. We have been rigorously working since the
opening of the meet to understand what has led to this spike and have yet to find a conclusive discernable
pattern as we await the findings of ongoing investigations into those injuries and fatalities.
Executive Director of Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Mike Peterson, performed additional diagnostics on the racetrack. According to Churchill Downs, the report indicated there were no concerns or inconsistencies with prior measurements.
