Bellocq represented by first starter since San Luis Rey fire

ARCADIA, Calif. – Eye of the River will be a longshot in a $20,000 claiming race for maidens on Thursday at Santa Anita.

Sadly, the filly’s trainer, Martine Bellocq, remains hospitalized in San Diego with second- and third-degree burns over 50 percent of her body sustained in the wildfire that struck the San Luis Rey Downs training center in San Diego County on Dec. 7.

In the weeks after the fire, her husband, Pierre, said Martine Bellocq faced a lengthy recovery. Pierre Bellocq did not return a message seeking comment last weekend. According to a statement released by the California Horse Racing Board on Dec. 22, the Bellocqs lost two horses in a fire in which 46 horses perished.

The Bellocqs have a small stable, and were winless in 23 races last year.

Fellow horsemen at Del Mar have come to Pierre Bellocq’s aid while his wife has been hospitalized. The couple has always been a hands-on team, according to trainer Ed Freeman, who is based at Del Mar while San Luis Rey Downs is being renovated.

“The two of them worked together with the horses they had,” Freeman said. “Our guys looked after their horses on New Year’s Day so he could have a day off.”