Horse Deaths Raise Concerns Ahead of 2023 Kentucky Derby
The 2023 Kentucky Derby is scheduled to take place this Saturday, May 6, the start of the famed Triple Crown series that's central to the horse racing calendar. But this year's event has been marred by tragedy before it even happened. Five horses have died the week leading up to the historic race, despite recent efforts at regulating the industry.
Churchill Downs suspended trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. indefinitely on Thursday, after two of horses from his barn died under mysterious circumstances within the span of four days. Parents Pride, a four-year-old filly, collapsed and died after the eighth race at Churchill on April 29, while five year old Chasing Artie met the same fate on May 2, also after the eighth race. The causes of death are still unknown.
In unrelated incidents, three other horses had to be euthanized after suffering catastrophic injuries. This includes hopeful Wild on Ice while training on dirt on April 27, Code of Kings after breaking his neck in a saddling paddock on April 29, and Take Charge Briana during a turf race on May 2.
This is in addition to at least three other horse deaths and 11 injuries during the spring meet at Keeneland last month.
On top of the deaths and injuries, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will be notably absent from his second consecutive Kentucky Derby due to a two-year suspension stemming from his 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit failing a post-race drug test.
In light of the tragic events, Churchill Downs issued a statement on Wednesday, May 3 emphasizing that the horse racing complex shares the concern of fans who have questions about the recent deaths.
"While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable," the statement read. "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."
In 2020, former President Donald Trump signed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act into law, the first federal horse protection legislation in half a century. Among other things, the law banned race-day doping, regulated uniform drug testing, and placed new anti-doping and track safety rules into effect beginning in July of last year.