Tragedy strikes Breeders’ Cup despite reform

ARCADIA, Calif. — The Breeders’ Cup and Santa Anita came within 220 yards of staging a safe weekend of championship racing.

It all came down to the $6 million Classic in front of nearly 70,000 fans and a primetime television audience. The 11horse field thundered out of the final turn, with favorite McKinzie in the lead and Vino Rosso bearing down on him.

Behind them along the rail, Mongolian Groom suddenly faltered. Jockey Abel Cedillo jerked on the reins to ease the 4yearold gelding, who hopped on three legs. His injured left hind leg dangled distressingly.

Vino Rosso charged past McKinzie to claim victory, triggering cheers and a celebration by his human connections. Up the track, a screen was set up to shield Mongolian Groom and an equine ambulance drove to his rescue.

But there was nothing to be done after the gelding sustained what Cup officials described as “a serious fracture” of his leg. Given the extent of the injury, four veterinarians recommended that he be euthanized.

Mongolian Groom became the 37th horse to die at Santa Anita since last December, and the seventh since the fall meet began Sept. 27.

It was a final blow in a strifefilled season for a sport struggling to protect the lives of horses and jockeys amid a steady drumbeat of public criticism by everyone from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to animal rights activists demanding an end to horse racing in California.

The deaths had prompted track owner The Stronach Group to change rules involving medication and training. The Breeders’ Cup beefed up its own prerace exams and observations of runners.

But no one can eliminate the unpredictability of sports or injury.

“You just don’t know when it is going to happen,” twotime Triple Crownwinning trainer Bob Baffert said. “We try to keep them as safe as we can.”

A day after the Breeders’ Cup ended its record 10th running at Santa Anita, all was quiet at the track.

All nine races went off without incident Sunday on closing day of the fall meet. A horse in the last race was pulled up but was uninjured.

Racing moves to Del Mar starting Friday through Dec. 1 at the seaside track north of San Diego.

Santa Anita opens its winterspring meet on Dec. 26.

By then, more changes could be in place. The Stronach Group has said it’s looking into the feasibility of replacing Santa Anita’s main dirt track with a synthetic surface, something tried before in California and cast aside.

Craig Fravel has now left his post as CEO of the Breeders’ Cup to join The Stronach Group, where he’ll be in charge of executing and enforcing effective procedures and integrity standards for horses and riders.

The California Thoroughbred Trainers organization has agreed to help raise money for the purchase of an equine MRI (to scan horses while standing) for the equine imaging center on the Santa Anita backstretch. A Nov. 15 deadline is looming to contract for the equipment so it would be installed before the winterspring meet opens.