A horse was euthanized Monday morning after sustaining a “serious injury” during training, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced. It was the fourth death at the racetrack this season.
Bri Bri, a 3-year-old filly trained by Jim Cassidy, was euthanized after she injured her pelvis, DMTC spokesman Mac McBride said in a statement.
“We are deeply sorry for her and her human connections,” he said.
The club did not release any information on how the horse got injured, saying only that emergency personnel immediately responded to the incident. The club will meet with Cassidy to discuss the incident, McBride said.
On July 19, two horses died in what the racetrack called a “freak” accident during morning warm-ups. The horses, 3-year-old Carson Valley and 2-year-old Charge a Bunch, collided with each other on the main track and one jockey was injured.
On July 30, Bowl of Soul was euthanized after it injured its right hind fetlock.
“Del Mar has implemented a series of safety and welfare reforms over the last several racing seasons, including the creation of an independent five-member panel to review all entries,” McBride said.
Del Mar is considered to be one of the safest racing venues in the nation, according to the Jockey Club Equine Injury Data. The racetrack has 0.79 horse death per 1,000 starts last year. The national average was 1.68 among tracks that reported fatal injuries, according to DMTC.
So far this summer season, there have been no deaths during racing.
