Broberg excluded from racing at Churchill Downs Inc. tracks

Trainer Karl Broberg, who led the nation in wins from 2014-19 while operating a mostly claiming stable, has been excluded “indefinitely” from tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc. for “failure to properly care” for a horse in his barn, the track said in a statement.

According to the statement, Rockandahardplace, who finished sixth in a $10,000 claiming race at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Sept. 18, was declared lame after the race by a regulatory veterinarian and was returned to his stall by “a paid hot-walker.” The statement went on to say that a “subsequent investigation revealed there was no responsible representative of the trainer on-site to make veterinary decisions or take appropriate steps to protect the welfare of the injured horse.”

Post time for the race was 6:30 p.m. Eastern, according to a chart. A claim was submitted for Rockandahardplace, but the claim was voided due to the determination of lameness from the regulatory veterinarian.

Broberg declined on Monday to provide details on his version of the incident, but he said that he is “looking at all options” to resolve the issue.

“Believe me when I tell you that I would like to go into more detail, but Churchill being Churchill, it’s not in my best interests to do so right now,” Broberg said. “We did absolutely nothing wrong, nothing that I am ashamed of.”

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Broberg did say that he was not at Churchill Downs on the night of Sept. 18. On the night of the race, Broberg started a total of 13 horses at four tracks.

“This decision was made without all the facts, and I am hoping to get it resolved once all the facts are known,” Broberg said. He added that he hoped that the situation could be resolved without the use of legal counsel.

Broberg said in a social media post that Rockandahardplace was sent to a private farm in Kentucky and would need six months of rest. The Churchill statement said that the 5-year-old gelding “did receive basic veterinary care on the night of Sept. 18.”

Churchill’s statement was released Friday and said that the company “has indefinitely revoked [Broberg’s] stalling and entry privileges at Churchill Downs Incorporated properties effective immediately.”

Churchill also owns Fair Grounds in New Orleans, which runs a late fall-winter meet each year, and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania. (Churchill also owns Arlington Park near Chicago, but the track did not apply for 2022 race dates and the property is being bid out.)

Broberg maintains strings at a number of racetracks throughout the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. In the past week, he has started horses at Belmont Park in New York, Remington Park in Oklahoma, Louisiana Downs, and Prairie Meadows in Iowa.