ELMONT, NEW YORK CITY – JUNE 10: Arcangelo with Javier Castellano up wins the 155 th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 10, 2023 in Elmont, NewYork (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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Horses passed away in successive races at Belmont Park, dealing more unfortunate blows to the beleaguered sport which had little time to commemorate of its most uplifting occasions of the year.
Mashnee Girl, trained by Mark Hennig, broke down in the very first race on Sunday, suffering a devastating injury to her left front leg at the storied race course simply beyond New York City prior to she was put down.
“Despite the immediate response and best efforts of on-site attending veterinarians, the horse was humanely euthanized due to the severity of the injury,” New York Racing Association Vice President Patrick McKenna stated in a declaration on Sunday.
About 17 hours previously, in the 13 th race on Saturday, a comparable fate befell Hennig- trained Excursionniste, was likewise suffered a deadly injury to the front left ankle.
Both catastrophes occurred on Belmont’s grass course as the field was nearing the top of the stretch.
“I’m not holding up very well,” a psychological Hennig informed NBC News, sniffling throughout the discussion. “It’s been very emotional. I just can’t fathom this ever happening, two horses you run in a row. I mean I’ve run over 10,000 horses and have never had anything close to this.”
That disaster unfolded simply after the 12 th race, when Arcangelo won the Belmont Stakes and made Jena Antonucci the very first female fitness instructor to win a Triple Crown gem.
Animal rights group PETA fasted to blame Belmont for the twin catastrophes.
“Two dead Thoroughbreds in two days with the same trainer on the same track means one thing: Belmont Park is failing to protect horses,” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo stated in a declaration. “Like Churchill Downs, Belmont must suspend racing immediately to avoid the same bloodbath. Anything less makes Belmont complicit in the fatalities.”
Including Mashnee Girl and Excursionniste, 4 horses have actually passed away throughout races at Belmont Park’s spring/summer satisfy, which started on May 4 and has actually included 1,670 horses beginning in 214 races, according to McKenna.
“NYRA’s comprehensive safety strategy is informed by the most advanced science and research in consultation with independent experts, veterinarians, and horsemen,” the NYRA associate stated. “The health and safety of horses and jockeys competing at NYRA tracks is our highest priority and one that stands above all other considerations.”
Mashnee Girl and Excursionniste both had tidy expenses of health without any issue for racing, their fitness instructor stated.
“Neither one of them has been on a vet’s list, they’re clean-legged horses,” Hennig stated. “It’s just horrible, horrible, horrible luck. These horses were in good, sound racing condition. These two horses never had issues with these ankles, the same ankles that fractured.”
Saturday’s Belmont Stakes topped a troubled 5 weeks of racing that typically shines an intense light on the sport of kings. Instead, a string of unfortunate death raised concerns about the sport’s practicality.
A week ago Friday, Churchill Downs, host of the Kentucky Derby, revealed it had actually briefly stopped racing there to examine its current casualties.
And soon prior to National Treasure won the Preakness, the normally party-filled day at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore was eclipsed by disaster when Havnameltdown broke down at the top of the stretch of the $200,000 Grade IIII Chick Lang Stakes and needed to be put down.
