2 horses die at Belmont Park, adding another black eye for sport during Triple Crown season
ELMONT, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Arcangelo with Javier Castellano up wins the 155th Running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 10, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Two horses were euthanized at Belmont Park, the site of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.
The first came on Saturday following the final race of the Belmont Stakes, which came immediately after the main event in which Arcangelo won the 155th running.
Excursionniste was injured and ended up getting euthanized, marking a horse’s death at all three Triple Crown race sites, which includes Churchill Downs (Kentucky Derby) Pimlico Race Course (Preakness Stakes).
Then, Mashnee Girl was euthanized on Sunday following "catastrophic injury" to the left front leg during a race at Belmont Park, per the New York Racing Association.
It was the same injury that occurred to Excursionniste.
PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo released a statement Saturday following the death of Excursionniste.
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"Racing couldn’t manage to keep all horses alive for even one Triple Crown day this year," she said in the statement. "Belmont Park did not do enough to prevent Excursionniste’s death. PETA urged the New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission to require CT scans for all horses racing today in order to screen for preexisting injuries, which are present in 90% of these fatalities. They refused."
"The racing industry is digging its own grave – as well as this horse's."
Churchill Downs suspended all racing until July 3 following 12 total deaths at the track this year, all of which are being investigated.
The announcement came Friday where Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanien said, "The team at Churchill Downs takes great pride in our commitment to safety and strives to set the highest standard in racing, consistently going above and beyond the regulations and policies that are required."
"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."
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Bob Baffert’s horse Havnameltdown suffered an injury to the left front ankle during an undercard race before the Preakness Stakes ran, which led to being euthanized at the Maryland track.
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