Keeneland has fifth equine fatality of the meet

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The fifth equine fatality of the fall meet occurred Sunday when Call to Victory, ridden by Julien Leparoux, was euthanized after suffering a catastrophic right-foreleg injury on the backstretch of the turf course during the sixth race. Through 13 racing days, this was the third fatality to result from a turf race, with the other two occurring on the main track.

Leparoux was not injured, nor were any other horses or riders.

Keeneland vice president Bob Elliston said Monday: “Keeneland, in full cooperation with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, will conduct an extensive review of all potential contributing factors to this and all incidents on our racecourse. The safety of the equine and human athletes competing at Keeneland remains our single and most important priority.”

Meanwhile, Leparoux, who has won or tied for the leading jockey title 11 times at Keeneland, has surged to the top of the local standings after riding nine winners last week.

Leparoux holds a 16-12 lead over Javier Castellano, who has returned to New York for the four-day balance of the meet, which runs through Saturday. Leparoux, 36, earned his first Keeneland title at the 2006 spring meet when tying with Rafael Bejarano and was most recently the leading rider at the 2016 fall meet.

As for trainers, Chad Brown holds a 7-5 lead over Mike Maker atop the standings. Brown has just one scheduled starter through Friday, while Maker has four. In fact, the entire Brown string except for his one remaining starter was scheduled to leave here Monday. Brown, based in New York, has never won a Keeneland training title.