Following the sudden deaths of two horses from the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. over the first two days of racing at Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Board of Stewards released the following statements.
From Board of Stewards:
“For the betterment of racing, the health and welfare of our equine athletes, and the safety of our jockeys, all horses trained by trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. are scratched effective immediately and until further notice. This action is taken after consultation with Mr. Joseph, and includes Lord Miles who was entered into the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby.”
Joint statement from Ray Perry, Secretary of the Public Protection Cabinet and Jonathan Rabinowitz, Chairman of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission:
“Kentucky is committed to being the global leader in safety and integrity of horse racing. We fully support the stewards' actions today to ensure the safety of our equine and human athletes while an investigation is ongoing into the unusual circumstances surrounding these tragic fatalities.”
“Sudden death” means that the horse's cause was not immediately apparent and did not seem to be due to external trauma or musculoskeletal injury.
Joseph trainee Parents Pride collapsed and died after failing to finish a race on April 29, and Chasing Artie suffered a similar fate after finishing last, beaten 28 ¾ lengths, in a May 2 turf sprint. Joseph trained the horses for Ken Ramsey.
The attention ahead of the track's biggest event prompted track management to release a statement, reassuring fans that it will “continue to press for answers.”
Joseph scratched his lone entrant at Churchill on Wednesday, May 3, and was given permission by stewards to scratch his entrants on Thursday and Friday's cards.
Joseph had seven horses entered for Saturday, May 6, including Kentucky Derby runner Lord Miles, G1 Churchill Downs runner White Abarrio, and G1 Turf Classic runner Master Piece.
The defection of Lord Miles opens the way for Japanese-trained Mandarin Hero, post 22, to draw in to the 2023 Kentucky Derby field.
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