Earlier this year, it seemed as though the Santa Anita racetrack was going through a bleak time, with a high rate of racehorses requiring euthanization after accidents on the track. A new racing season has begun since then, but Santa Anita is still encountering difficulty: on Saturday, a young colt named Emtech was euthanized after breaking two front forelimbs during a race.
At Deadspin, Gabe Fernandez has details on the latest incident at the racetrack, in which jockey Mario Gutierrez — a two-time Kentucky Derby winner — was thrown onto the track, though he was reportedly not seriously injured.
Fernandez’s article notes that this is not the first tragedy to befall the racetrack this season:
Santa Anita had gone all of 11 days without a horse dying there; a 4-year-old gelding named Zeke had to be put down earlier this month after breaking its pelvis. The track is scheduled to the Breeders’ Cup world championships in November.
The Stronach Group, which owns the Santa Anita racetrack, has announced an investigation into the cause of Emtech’s fatal injury. Whether this will affect future races held at Santa Anita remains to be seen. Emtech’s death was the first of this racing season — hopefully safety procedures will help to prevent similar events in the future.
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