Six-horse spill on Saturday results in no-contest
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Six horses and their jockeys were involved in a violent wreck past the half-mile pole in the second race Saturday evening at Churchill Downs, leading Churchill stewards to declare the race a no-contest.
Lutkenhaus, a first-time starter ridden by Cristian Torres for Team Valor Stable, was pressing the pace in a 2-year-old maiden-special weight sprint when he broke down badly in his left-front leg. Lutkenhaus was euthanized on the track, trainer Rodolphe Brisset confirmed, after triggering a chain reaction in which Ritornello, Midnight Rumble, Shacklebolt, Steve Wood, and Industrious all fell.
Torres was taken to University of Louisville Hospital and released later Saturday night. Torres wasn’t seriously hurt, but was very sore and took off his Sunday mounts, according to his agent, Cody Autrey. Autrey said Torres hopes to resume riding Wednesday.
Francisco Arrieta, Ritornello’s jockey, was cleared to continue riding and later won the Harrods Creek Stakes on Doublecents. Ritornello walked off the track and was treated for superficial abrasions, according to multiple published reports citing Dr. Will Farmer, equine medical director for Churchill Downs Inc.
Midnight Rumble, ridden by Axel Concepcion, got to his feet and was caught by Churchill outriders, walked back to trainer Joe Sharp’s barn, and was not seriously injured, Sharp said Sunday morning. Concepcion continued riding Saturday night
Shacklebolt suffered cuts on his left hind leg but walked off the course and, trainer Eion Harty reported Sunday morning, was not badly injured. His jockey, Walter Rodriguez, was taken to University of Louisville Hospital and diagnosed with a concussion, according to his agent, Cliff Collier. Collier said X-rays taken Saturday night did not reveal any fractures, but that Torres was scheduled for more X-rays and a CT scan Sunday before he could be released.
Steve Wood, like Ritornello, had relatively minor lacerations and walked back to the stable area, according to Farmer. Jockey Martin Garcia also was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with several broken ribs, according to his agent, Jake Romans. Garcia was released Sunday morning but will miss several weeks of race-riding.
Industrious, a first-time starter by Tapit for whom Spendthrift Farm paid $1.25 million at auction, was taken off the track in an equine ambulance with a left-front leg injury, according to Farmer. The colt on Sunday morning was vanned to a veterinary clinic for further treatment, trainer Steve Asmussen said. Jockey Keith Asmussen took off his remaining mounts Saturday night but posted to his X account that he had not been badly injured.
After more than half an hour, the race was declared a no-contest because only four of the 10 starters had finished. Kentucky racing rules give stewards wide latitude to declare races no-contests, including in situations where multiple-horse accidents compromise the competitive integrity of a contest.
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