Kentucky Derby: Wild On Ice euthanized after training injury
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby hopeful Wild On Ice was euthanized Thursday morning after suffering a catastrophic injury to his left hind leg at Churchill Downs in a pre-dawn workout intended to prepare him for the Derby on May 6.
Wild On Ice was galloping out after the five-furlong workout when jockey Ken Tohill pulled him up in distress just past the six-furlong pole on the Churchill Downs backstretch. The severity of the injury to his left hind leg led emergency personnel to load him onto the ambulance and take him to the Equine Medical Center on the Churchill backstretch, where the leg was stabilized for transport to an equine clinic in Lexington in an attempt to possibly save his life.
The El Paso Times reported later Thursday morning that owner-breeder Frank Sumpter said Wild On Ice had to be euthanized.
The defection of Wild On Ice, who earned his way into the 20-horse Derby lineup by winning the Sunland Derby on March 26, allows Skinner into the field, with Cyclone Mischief (No. 21) and Major Dude (No. 22) next up. Derby entries will be taken Monday.
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Trainer Joel Marr, who watched the workout from the Churchill front side, hurried over to join Wild On Ice on the van as it was leaving the track. Marr and Tohill then accompanied the colt to Lexington. A phone call to Marr late Thursday morning went unanswered.
The defection of Wild On Ice scraps one of the better stories of Kentucky Derby 149. Tohill, at age 60, would have become the oldest jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby. Marr, a longtime top trainer in the Southwest, also would have been represented by his first Derby starter.
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Wild On Ice, bred and owned by Sumpter, figured as a major longshot. The gelded son of Tapizar had never raced outside of New Mexico and earned just a 77 Beyer Speed Figure in his 35-1 upset of the Sunland Derby.