Death of horse a result of 'freak' incident

ARCADIA, Calif. – The fatal injury to a 4-year-old horse Monday at Santa Anita was the result of a freak incident, according to trainer Dean Pederson, whose gelding Zeke was euthanized after he sustained a fractured pelvis during a workout on the infield training track.

Zeke galloped out on the backstretch after he worked a half-mile, then came to a sudden stop. Jockey Tiago Pereira told Pederson he did not hear any type of audible pop often associated with a severe injury. But Zeke was hurt and merely stopped.

“It was like he just locked,” Pederson said. “It was one of those freak things. Something like that, an injury behind, it’s just kind of freakish.”

Zeke initially did not appear in visible discomfort after Pereira pulled him up. Zeke walked onto the horse ambulance fine, and Pederson said he walked off the ambulance fine at the stable. Later, however, Pederson said the gelding’s hind end became “hard as a rock” due to the fractured pelvis.

“We did the best we could for the horse,” Pederson said.

By nightfall, it was clear that Zeke would be unable to support weight on all four legs, and he was euthanized.

The incident was the first known fatality at Santa Anita since the track reopened for training early this month. Santa Anita issued a press release Tuesday afternoon confirming the fatality, reported first by the Los Angeles Times.

Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinarian for Santa Anita owner the The Stronach Group, said in the prepared release: “Everyone at Santa Anita and throughout the Stronach Group is devastated by this loss. We are carefully reviewing what factors could have contributed to Zeke’s injury.”

Hind-end injuries such as the pelvis fracture sustained by Zeke can occur when a racing surface is excessively deep, but the gelding’s trainer did not pin blame on anything other than misfortune.

“Maybe the training track is still a touch deep, but the horse worked the week before [on the training track] and worked well,” Pederson said. “I worked him on the training track because he was a grass horse, and it seems like grass horses work a little better on the training track.”

Zeke, a gelding by Gio Ponti, won two races and $71,360 from 14 starts. He was claimed from a fifth-place finish in a $25,000 claiming race on turf in his most recent start Aug. 29 at Del Mar.

According to the Santa Anita release, the fatality was the second on the training track in 2019. Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Los Alamitos instituted extensive safety protocols after a rash of injuries during the winter-spring meet at Santa Anita.