With the Triple Crown season officially at an end after the Belmont Stakes, attention is again shifting to safety issues in the sport.
During the festivities at Belmont on Saturday, June 10, two horses were put down, marking the latest of several horse deaths that have occurred during the Triple Crown season. Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, had 12 horses die during the month of May according to NBC News.
Ahead of the Kentucky Derby, Wayne Pacelle, president of the Animal Wellness Action made it a point to emphasize safety for the race horses and the hope that it will be a top priority at race tracks around the country.
“It should be a top priority for Churchill Downs and all other tracks to make horse welfare their top priority,” Pacelle said.
That same month during the Preakness Stakes, two horses died early on during the day’s festivities, according to a CBS News article, including Havnameltdown, trained by Bob Baffert. Baffert’s other horse, National Treasure, won the Preakness.
“It’s the worst feeling. And we grieve. We do grieve when these things happen. There is nothing worse than coming back and the stall is empty,” Baffert said.
Incidents of this nature have led to a response from Churchill Downs which, in the aftermath of the 12 deaths, has suspended racing operations until July 3. Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen issued a statement via CBS Sports stating the need to have a thorough review.
“What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely unacceptable. Despite our best efforts to identify a cause for the recent horse injuries, and though no issues have been linked to our racing surfaces or environment at Churchill Downs, we need to take more time to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all of the details and circumstances so that we can further strengthen our surface, safety and integrity protocols,” Carstanjen said.
Safety rule changes are nothing new for the sport. In 2020, a bipartisan legislative piece was created by Congress called the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. This legislation, which came after major scrutiny involving deaths and a doping scheme, introduced new safety measures according to a piece by Axios. These include a new limit on the use of the riding crop and prohibiting cattle prods and other desensitizing devices used to mask pain for the horses.
New rules are in place, but now three years later the sport is under the microscope yet again under unfavorable conditions. With the Triple Crown season officially over, the countdown to 2024’s festivities have begun. The aftermath of the 2023 season will be sure to have an impact on the future and public perception of thoroughbred horse racing for years to come.
Edited by: James Sutton
Featured Image: Photo by Mike Kotsch on Unsplash
