Horse death at Laurel Park under routine review; activist says 12 have died this year in Maryland
BALTIMORE -- Regulators are completing a routine review into the recent death of a horse at Laurel Park during a race last month.
Video of the Oct. 21 race posted to YouTube shows three-year-old colt, Hooky Player, suddenly fall. The horse had to be euthanized, another horse also reportedly tumbled and two jockeys were injured—one with a broken collarbone.
Mike Hopkins, the executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission that regulates the industry, told WJZ the incident will undergo a thorough review.
"Not only are we concerned about the safety of the horses but also the safety of the rider," Hopkins said. "We will look at the complete medical history of the horse. We'll interview the jockey, the trainer, if necessary, the veterinarian who attended to the horse."
The process takes several weeks.
Hopkins told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren there has not been another series of deaths like the eight fatal fractures last October and November that lead to brief suspension of races at Laurel Park.
"No has called to express any concerns about the track surface whatsoever," he said.
The Maryland Jockey Club, run by the operator of both Pimlico and Laurel tracks, said they are "fully cooperating with the investigation."
Deaths of horses have led to protests at Pimlico and Laurel.
Activist Patrick Battuello of the group Horse Racing Wrongs has tracked 12 deaths in Maryland this year, including the horse Monarch Beach at Pimlico in May.
"Nothing changes. They're in a desperate fight for their very existence, so what they do to assuage some of the uneasiness in the public is talk about reforms and new safety protocols," Battuello said.
He noted those numbers only include the first half of the year.
"In the end, horses continue to die at the same rate they've been dying since we've been doing this in 2013," Battuello claimed.
He would like to end racing altogether.
"Clearly, this is heading in one direction," Battuello told WJZ. "It's just a question of how soon we will get there and how many horses will be killed before we get there."
The horse industry is big business in Maryland, with the famed Preakness every year at Pimlico.
Hopkins said he is committed to keeping it safe and noted stricter federal oversight and regulations in place.
"We've been ahead of the eight ball on this as far as I'm concerned, and we just try to improve it on a day-to-day basis whenever something happens," he said.
Meanwhile, Battuello is committed to bringing attention to the death toll.
"We see horses going down every day. We estimate more than 2,000 horses are killed at U.S. tracks every year," Battuello said. "That's about six every single day."
