Churchill Downs Racetrack, house of the Kentucky Derby, introduced Friday that it’s postponing racing at its amenities following the deaths of a dozen horses.
The Louisville monitor will stop operations from June 7 thru the rest of the Spring Meet, which is scheduled to finish July 3, and races scheduled there shall be moved to any other location.
“Churchill Downs Racetrack has noticed an extraordinary choice of horse accidents over the former month leading to 12 equine fatalities,” the corporate stated in a observation, noting that during more than one investigations into the horses’ deaths, “no unmarried issue has been known as a possible purpose and no [discernible] development has been detected to hyperlink the fatalities.”
Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures
Invoice Carstanjen, CEO of the racetrack, added he’s hopeful that the monitor’s closure will permit investigators to seek out solutions.
“What has came about at our monitor is deeply provoking and completely unacceptable,” he stated. “Regardless of our best possible efforts to spot a purpose for the new horse accidents, and even though no problems had been connected to our racing surfaces or atmosphere at Churchill Downs, we want to take extra time to behavior a top-to-bottom overview of the entire main points and instances in order that we will be able to additional make stronger our floor, protection and integrity protocols.”
The deaths forged a somber temper over the Kentucky Derby in early Might, when the 6th and 7th horses to die had been injured all over their races. Each horses had been 3 years previous and euthanized because of knee and ankle accidents.
“He simply took a foul step available in the market,” Jeff Hiles, some of the horses’ running shoes, advised The Related Press on the time. “They may do the similar factor working within the box as they may at the monitor. So it’s very unlucky. That’s what we care for.”
The races scheduled at Churchill Downs will now happen about 80 miles east of Louisville at Lexington’s Ellis Park.