A report from NJ Advance Media revealed Friday that the number of equine fatalities at Monmouth Park has risen for a third straight year, averaging 2.05 deaths per 1,000 starts in 2022. The national average, reported by The Jockey Club, was 1.25 over the same period.
A total of 22 Thoroughbreds died at Monmouth in 2022, including six which occurred off the racetrack, outside of racing or training:
- Kershaw, a 7-year-old , suffered a cervical fracture and was found with a three-centimeter-deep laceration on his forehead on Oct. 28. The Jose D'Angelo-trained gelding won a starter optional claiming race on Sept. 30 at Laurel in his final career start.
- Classic Escape, a 3-year-old gelding, finished last in a race Aug. 29 after being “fractious just prior to the start” and hitting the gate, endured a broken tail and could no longer defecate before being euthanized days later on Sept. 4. (trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr.)
- Hi Millie, a 3-year-old gelding, was discovered laying in his stall on July 26. Owner/trainer James Frangella, Jr. said that it was an adverse reaction to medication under a doctor's care.
- Road to Meath, a 7-year-old gelding trained by Jack Abrams, was listed as a “Sudden Death @ rest” on Aug. 19. The pathologist listed respiratory distress and the ingestion of an anticoagulant rodenticide as possible causes of death.
- Annas Candy, an insured 4-year-old filly, was found dead in the barn of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer on July 17. The fatality report said she flipped in the stall; her skull was fractured. A note added, “This horse attached to hoist.”
- Miss Margaret Ann, a 6-year-old mare, died on June 25 with her cause of death listed as “colic.” (trainer John Pimental)
Additionally, four Standardbreds died at Meadowlands Racetrack, and one Standardbred fatality was reported at Freehold Raceway.
The report also points to the federal indictments of trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis, both of whom were based at Monmouth Park in adjacent barns. Both trainers pled guilty; Navarro is one year into a five-year prison sentence, and Servis is scheduled to be sentenced a few days after this Saturday's Haskell.
It also highlights trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who was banned from California tracks owned by The Stronach Group after a series of equine fatalities in 2019, and set up shop at Monmouth in 2020. Two of his trainees were among the death toll at Monmouth in 2022: the aforementioned Annas Candy, and Stratofortress, an uninsured 4-year-old gelding, who suffered a fracture on track and was euthanized. Hollendorfer recently transferred his Monmouth string to longtime assistant trainer Dan Ward.
Read more at NJ Advance Media.
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