Recepta among three horses injured in training Friday

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The graded-stakes-winning filly Recepta and two other horses suffered injuries – one fatal – while training over the Saratoga main track Friday morning.

Recepta, the winner of the Grade 3 Noble Damsel and the recent runner-up in the Grade 1 Diana, fractured her pelvis while galloping over the main track at around 9:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Wheels Up Now and Scadadle fractured sesamoids while galloping out at the end of timed workouts. The injuries sustained by Wheels Up Now proved fatal, according to Terry Finley, whose West Point Thoroughbreds owns the 3-year-old Smart Strike colt who brought $450,000 as a yearling.

Scadadle, a recent $20,000 claim made by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Mike Maker at Churchill Downs, was vanned back to Maker’s barn, according to the trainer.

Recepta, a 5-year-old daughter of Speightstown owned by John Phillips and Pam Gartin, was simply galloping when exercise rider Usbaldo Zavala heard something crack, trainer Jimmy Toner said, and he immediately pulled up the filly by the eighth pole. Recepta was vanned off and taken directly to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga Springs.

Recepta was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis that will end her racing career.

Toner said that Recepta is resting comfortably in a stall at the equine clinic. He said the filly will not undergo surgery.

“The main thing is the next 30 to 45 days are crucial,” Toner said. “Just stall rest. They have to be standing; you can’t allow them to get up and down. If they do, they can refracture that and cause another problem.”

Toner said while horses can come back from such an injury, he is not anticipating a return to the races for Recepta.

“I don’t care about her coming back to the races, I just want her to be okay,” Toner said.

In addition to finishing second in the Diana, Recepta finished second in the Grade 1 Just a Game in June at Belmont and in last year’s Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar.

Recepta won 5 races from 17 starts and earned $696,700. She won the Noble Damsel, Chelsey Flower, and De La Rose stakes.

Meanwhile, Wheels Up Now was injured galloping out into the clubhouse turn at the end of a workout. He was vanned to a clinic, where he had to be euthanized, Finely said. Wheels Up Now had one win from six starts.

A few minutes before Wheels Up Now was injured, Scadadle was injured while galloping out at the end of a workout, Maker confirmed.

On Thursday at the Oklahoma training track, Jonrah, a 7-year-old gelding who had just won a $50,000 claiming race June 22 for trainer Chad Brown and owner Mike Dubb, suffered a fatal injury galloping out at the end of a workout.

There have been four racing-related fatalities at this meet, the most recent being Domestic Warrior on Aug. 1.

Martin Panza, the New York Racing Association’s senior director of racing operations, said the tracks are inspected daily, and no problems have been reported.

“We’re not doing anything different than we normally do,” Panza said. “Track gets checked every morning. We’ll continue to monitor the situation. Obviously, we don’t want horses injured or deaths. Sometimes you go through cycles. We’ve been well below the national average [for catastrophic injuries] the last couple of years. Certainly, we’re concerned, but we’re not doing anything different day in and day out.

“Every death is investigated,” Panza added. “We’ll look to see if there’s anything in common, but it would be too early to draw any conclusions at this time.”

– additional reporting by Mike Welsch