Four horses euthanized at Churchill Downs in last week, Kentucky Derby to be held Saturday

With just days to go until the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby, horse racing is dealing with staggeringly grim news coming from Churchill Downs. Four horses, including Derby entrant Wild on Ice, have died in the last week.

Wild On Ice was injured last Thursday following a morning workout and was eventually euthanized. On Saturday, Parents Pride died during an opening night race of still yet determined causes. Then on Tuesday, at the 502’s Day billed as the locals’ day at the races, Chasing Artie and Take Charge Briana both were vanned off following their races, and euthanized. Take Charge Briana, like Wild on Ice, sustained an injury but the cause of death for Chasing Artie, similar to Parents Pride, has yet to be determined. Both Chasing Artie and Parents Pride are trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., and owned by Ken Ramsey.

“It shatters me,” Joseph told Sports Illustrated on Wednesday morning. “The odds of that happening twice, it doesn’t add up. Theories aren’t going to help anything. We need facts.‘’

Joseph has Kentucky Derby entrant Lord Miles, as well as several other horses scheduled to race this week, but told SI that he was so uneasy that he might consider scratching the horses.

Churchill Downs released a statement about the deaths, calling them “completely unacceptable.” “We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed,” the statement continued. It went on to address concerns, or even insinuations, that the track surface might be an issue.

“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 risks 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.”

The racetrack vowed to “continue to press for answers,” and said it was working with regulators to conduct “swift and thorough investigations.‘’