Three horses die in first two days of Spring Meet racing at Churchill Downs

Three horses died during the first two days of racing this week at Churchill Downs in Louisville, just days after a contender for the Kentucky Derby was euthanized following training at the track.

Parents Pride, a 4-year-old filly, was pulled up in the stretch during Saturday’s eighth race then collapsed and died, according to the Daily Racing Form.

Then on Tuesday, 3-year-old filly Take Charge Briana fell during the stretch run of the fifth race and was euthanized on the track. Later Tuesday, 5-year-old gelding Chasing Artie collapsed and died after the eighth race in similar fashion to Parents Pride, the Daily Racing Form reported.

Those racing deaths came just days after Kentucky Derby contender Wild On Ice suffered a catastrophic leg injury during training and was euthanized.

Churchill Downs spokesperson Darren Rogers released a statement Wednesday saying the causes of death for Parents Pride and Chasing Artie have not yet been identified. Take Charge Briana and Wild On Ice suffered “musculoskeletal injuries from which they could not recover.”

Both horses in Tuesday’s incidents were ridden by Luis Saez. He was not injured in Take Charge Briana’s fall. Saez will be aboard Tapit Trice in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, the 5-1 second choice on the morning line behind 3-1 Forte.

Parents Pride and Chasing Artie were both owned by Nicholasville-based Ken Ramsey and trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.

“Those are a couple of really tough blows,” Ramsey told the Daily Racing Form. “Almost hard to believe.”

Parents Pride won two races and finished second twice in six career starts.

Chasing Artie had five victories from 12 career starts and competed in three graded stakes.

Take Charge Briana, trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, posted one win, one second and two thirds in 12 starts.

“While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable,” Churchill’s statement said. “We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed. We feel a tremendous responsibility to our fans, the participants in our sport and the entire industry to be a leader in safety and continue to make significant investments to eliminate risk to our athletes. We have full confidence in our racing surfaces and have been assured by our riders and horsemen that they do as well.”

Each horse was transported to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostics Lab for complete necropsies, Rogers said.

“We continue to press for answers and are working with regulators to conduct swift and thorough investigations.” he said.

The rash of incidents at Churchill Downs comes on the heels of the deadliest meet in years at Keeneland Race Course. Three horses died during the Lexington racetrack’s Spring Meet, its most in one year since 2019.

Kentucky Derby Week continues with full racing cards at Churchill on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, highlighted by the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on Friday and the 149^th Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 11:06 AM.