Sports

HORSE RACING

Churchill Downs suspends racing in wake of horse deaths

By Gus Garcia-Roberts
June 2, 2023 at 6:21 p.m. EDT



Churchill Downs, site of last month's Kentucky Derby and perhaps the most famous horse track in the world, is suspending racing in wake of 12 recent horse deaths. (Julio Cortez/AP)

Churchill Downs, one of the most famous horse racing tracks in the world and the home of the Kentucky Derby, announced Friday it is suspending racing following 12 horse deaths, including seven in the run-up to the sport’s premier race last month.

The decision followed a recommendation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the newly installed watchdog overseeing thoroughbred racing, which said time was needed to investigate the spate of horse deaths that marred the Kentucky Derby and have persisted since.

The suspension is a historic move for the fabled, 148-year-old track and signals a potential sea change in the regulation of horse racing. HISA, created by a federal act in 2020, was fully implemented late last month.

“What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely unacceptable,” Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc., the track’s parent company, said Friday in a statement. “Despite our best efforts to identify a cause for the recent horse injuries, and though no issues have been linked to our racing surfaces or environment at Churchill Downs, we need to take more time to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all of the details and circumstances so that we can further strengthen our surface, safety and integrity protocols.”

CDI acknowledged in the statement the decision was “in alignment with a recommendation from HISA” to allow for a “review of all safety and surface protocols and integrity measures.”

Races scheduled for this weekend at Churchill Downs will go on as planned, but the remainder of the track’s spring meet, which runs through July 3, will take place at Ellis Park Racing, another track in Kentucky also owned by CDI.

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By Gus Garcia-Roberts
Gus Garcia-Roberts is an investigative reporter in the Sports Department. He joined The Washington Post in April 2021. Twitter https://twitter.com/ggarciaroberts