2-year-old horse dies after training injury at Santa Anita

A 2-year-old filly who had yet to run a race has died after suffering a training injury at Santa Anita — one day after officials announced that the Arcadia facility ranked as the safest track of similar size and activity in North America.

Ounce died Tuesday, according to the California Horse Racing Board, which listed her death type as “non-musculoskeletal.”

“Ounce passed away after what is suspected to be a cardiac event while returning from training on June 18. Her rider was uninjured,” Santa Anita said in a statement provided to City News Service on Wednesday.

“As is protocol, the horse will undergo a necropsy overseen by the University of California (Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine and the findings reported to the California Horse Racing Board. Santa Anita Park is one of the largest racing and training facilities in the country, averaging 375,000 training sessions per year. This is the second suspected cardiac event of 2024 at the track.”

Ounce is the ninth horse to die from a racing or training injury at Santa Anita in 2024.

On Monday, Santa Anita Park officials said their just-concluded winter-spring season, along with last year’s fall meet, combined to give the track a 99.97% racing safety record for horses.

The six-month winter-spring meet ended Sunday. During that span and the six-week fall meet that began Sept. 29, 2023, a total of 6,678 horses ran in races on Santa Anita’s main track and turf course, with two racing fatalities, according to the track and CHRB records.

Fourteen horses died at the track during that span due to training or racing injuries, either from musculoskeletal or non-musculoskeletal injuries, according to CHRB statistics. According to Santa Anita, the park has training operations throughout the year, with more than 375,000 training sessions annually.

“It is impossible to overstate the diligence that the entire racing community has put into prioritizing the safety of the horse above all else,” Nate Newby, senior vice president and general manager of Santa Anita Park, said in a statement. “From the owners, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians and the hardworking men and women who care for the horses each day, everyone has done their part to make safety our North Star.”

Santa Anita officials have touted safety improvements that have brought down the annual number of fatalities since 2019, when at least 42 horses died at the track, sparking widespread debate about safety issues at Santa Anita and about horse racing in general.