Churchill lifts Joseph's ban after necropsies on horses prove inconclusive

Necropsy reports for the two horses trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. who died of sudden deaths at Churchill Downs in the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby on May 6 did not find any conclusive causes for the deaths, according to the reports.

The deaths of the two horses, Parents Pride and Chasing Artie, were among 12 fatalities that occurred at Churchill Downs from April 27-May 28, after which Churchill suspended its live racing operations. After the second death of a Joseph horse occurred, on May 2, Churchill banned the trainer from its racetracks, a decision that kept Joseph from starting Lord Miles, a longshot, in the Derby.

In a statement released late on Friday, Churchill said that the Joseph’s ban had been lifted as a result of the release of the necropsy reports.

“Given the details available to us as a result of [the necropsy reports], there is no basis to continue Joseph’s suspension,” said Bill Mudd, Churchill’s chief operating officer.

Joseph did not respond to a text message on Friday.

The necropsy reports for Joseph’s horses did not reference any conclusive causes of death, and both noted that tests for prohibited substances and therapeutic medications “above regulatory threshold concentrations” were negative. Although Chasing Artie’s toxicology tests detected trace levels of two rodenticides, the report said that it was unlikely that the presence of the two substances – at levels of parts per billion – were associated with his death.

The reports also noted that both horses’ veterinary treatments in the 60 days leading up to their deaths were “very minimal and routine.”

Necropsy reports for sudden deaths – which account for approximately 15 percent of all equine fatalities at racetracks – are often inconclusive. Many sudden deaths are attributed to cardiac issues, but arriving at a definitive diagnosis of a fatal heart problem is extremely difficult, according to equine pathologists.

Parents Pride, a 4-year-old filly, died after collapsing on the track during a turf race on April 29 at Churchill. She had been exhibiting “severe weakness in the hind limbs” when her rider, Tyler Gaffalione, pulled her up at the three-eighths pole. She then collapsed and died prior to veterinarians being able to attend to her.

The necropsy report for Parents Pride, unlike the report for Chasing Artie, makes a specific mention of “exercise-associated sudden death,” but the doctor who prepared the report also said that Parents Pride did not display several factors associated with the condition, such as excessive heart inflammation. The doctor also noted that it is difficult to conclusively determine a diagnosis of exercise-associated sudden death.

Chasing Artie, a 5-year-old gelding, was eased during the running of a May 2 race on the turf course at Churchill. While he was returning to the unsaddling area after the race, the horse collapsed. Veterinarians who attended to the horse found him “agonal,” a term of art referring to serve pain associated with pending death, and “unresponsive to treatment.” He was quickly euthanized.

The autopsy report noted that “there was some hemorrhage in the airways, but in the pathologist’s opinion it was not enough to be the cause of the sudden death.”

The necropsies were carried out by staff at the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Under Kentucky racing rules, all horses that died at licensed racing facilities are necropsied.

The deaths at Churchill Downs were heavily scrutinized by media outlets, leading to the decision by the track to move live racing to Ellis Park, a western Kentucky track owned by Churchill. No fatalities have occurred at Ellis since the transition, in either training or racing.

The Churchill deaths also led the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to open an investigation into conditions at Churchill that could have contributed to the spate of fatalities. That investigation, which is being conducted in concert with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and with the cooperation of Churchill, is not expected to be finished until late this summer, according to a HISA official.

This story will be updated.

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