Bob Baffert-trained colt Rapacious is euthanized following on-track fall in California
Bob Baffert-trained colt Rapacious is euthanized following on-track fall in California after the embattled coach was handed two-year Kentucky Derby ban for Medina Spirit’s failed drug check
- Rapacious reared up twice misplaced his steadiness and fell on his again on Tuesday
- After being examined by veterinarians the colt was euthanized as a result of harm
- The unraced colt grew to become the tenth horse to die at Los Alamitos monitor this 12 months
- Bob Baffert was given a two-year ban for failed drug assessments by Churchill Downs
- Medina Spirit failed a pair of drug assessments following his Kentucky Derby win in 2021
- The horse died on December 6 from what Baffert claimed was a coronary heart assault
An unraced two-year-old colt educated by Bob Baffert was euthanized after an accident at Los Alamitos, changing into the tenth horse to die on the Southern California monitor this 12 months.
Officers on the monitor in Orange County stated Rapacious had accomplished his morning exercise Tuesday when he reared up twice as he was about to exit the monitor. The colt misplaced his steadiness and fell on his again. The train rider wasn’t harm.
After being examined by veterinarians, the colt was euthanized due to his again harm, monitor officers stated. The California Horse Racing Board has but to categorise the reason for dying.
The colt, owned by SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Steady, had not made his racing debut.
‘Los Alamitos stays dedicated to horse and rider security and is conducting a full assessment of this incident,’ the monitor stated in a press release.
The monitor took steps to deal with security after 4 horses died over 11 days earlier this 12 months.
Of the ten deaths on the monitor, 4 have concerned thoroughbreds. The opposite six have been quarter horses, which additionally race at Los Alamitos, in line with the CHRB’s listing of equine fatalities.
One other Baffert-trained horse, Medina Spirit, collapsed and died after a exercise at Santa Anita final December.
An unraced two-year-old colt educated by Bob Baffert (pictured) was euthanized after a fall
Rapacious is the tenth horse to die at Los Alamitos Race Course in California this 12 months
Baffert has claimed that Medina Spirit died of a coronary heart assault, however a necropsy did not reveal any definitive reason behind dying. The report stated no different medication, heavy metals or toxicants have been detected.
The necropsy included gross examination of the physique and inner organs, and specimen assortment for microscopic examination, toxicology, drug testing, and genetic testing, with specimens additionally saved for doable future testing.
Medina Spirit was posthumously disqualified and stripped of its Kentucky Derby win earlier this 12 months after failing a medication check following the victory.
Medina Spirit (pictured) was stripped of the victory in final 12 months’s Kentucky Derby and Mandaloun was declared the winner after a ruling by state racing stewards in February
Churchill Downs suspended Baffert final spring by way of 2023 and cited a current spate of failed drug assessments by his horses together with Medina Spirit.
Baffert sued the historic course and monitor management in March in federal courtroom, searching for to overturn the embattled Corridor of Fame coach’s two-year doping suspension on grounds it violated his due course of rights.
The go well with filed in March in US District Courtroom and obtained by DailyMail.com names Churchill Downs Inc., CEO William C. Carstanjen and board chair R. Alex Rankin.
Baffert initially denied wrongdoing after a post-race drug check revealed 21 picograms of betamethasone within the horse’s system following the Kentucky Derby win. He later acknowledged treating the horse with a topical ointment containing the corticosteroid for a pores and skin irritation.
Churchill Downs subsequently suspended Baffert, citing a current spate of failed drug assessments by his horses. Baffert sued the racing fee final June, searching for custody of remnant samples of Medina Spirit’s blood and urine for subsequent testing to show that the steroid didn’t come from an injection.
Craig Robertson, an legal professional for Baffert, stated in December {that a} urine check from a break up pattern confirmed the steroid got here from an ointment.
Baffert holds up the winner’s trophy after his Kentucky Derby victory with Medina Spirit
On February 21, Robertson vowed to enchantment the Kentucky Horse Racing Fee’s determination.
Baffert initially blamed ‘cancel tradition’ for the colt’s constructive check in Could of 2021.
Betamethasone is similar drug that was discovered within the system of Gamine, one other Baffert-trained horse who completed third within the Kentucky Oaks in September of 2020. Gamine was finally disqualified from that end due to that check and Baffert was fined $1,500.
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