Update: Racing incidents occur three straight days during Keeneland Spring Meet

Friday’s 10-race card at Keeneland featured two racing incidents, which now marks three straight days with horse welfare issues during the track’s Spring Meet.

This stretch started Wednesday afternoon when Master of the Ring suffered a catastrophic injury, which led to the second horse death during the 2023 Keeneland Spring Meet.

Friday’s first incident occurred during the penultimate race of the day, when a Todd Pletcher-trained 4-year-old named Green Up was pulled up by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. after crossing the wire.

According to the incident report on Keeneland’s website, Green Up was determined to have been experiencing an exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, and she was assisted back to the barn for further evaluation.

Green Up cooled out without incident and her prognosis is listed as “good.”

In Friday’s final race, a 3-year-old named Reckoning Force was observed to have been “off in the left front leg” during the gallop back after racing, according to the incident report.

Reckoning Force was loaded without incident into an equine ambulance and was taken back to the barn for further evaluation.

The horse, trained by Brendan Walsh, was diagnosed with mild lameness in the left forelimb.

Prognosis was listed as “favorable” for the horse.

Since the start of the Keeneland Spring Meet on April 7 (which means 10 days of racing through Friday), there have been seven racing incidents and more than 730 horses that have started a Spring Meet race.

Master of the Ring is second horse death at Keeneland this Spring Meet

An incident during the sixth race of Wednesday’s eight-race card at Keeneland resulted in a catastrophic injury for Master of the Ring, which marked the second horse death during the 2023 Keeneland Spring Meet.

Master of the Ring’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, was unseated during the racing incident, but was medically cleared and returned to the saddle in the very next race.

In the stretch of Wednesday afternoon’s race on the Keeneland turf course, Foreign Relations, ridden by jockey Flavien Prat, abruptly veered in front of Master of the Ring.

According to the incident report on Keeneland’s website, the horses clipped heels and Master of the Ring went down near the one-eighth pole.

The 5-year old horse, who was trained by Mike Maker, was vanned off and evaluated by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s veterinary team and was determined to have suffered a sublaxated right carpus.

Keeneland described the injury as “catastrophic in nature.” On Thursday afternoon, the Daily Racing Form reported Master of the Ring’s death via euthanasia.

Foreign Relations won the race, which was an allowance over 1.5 miles on a good turf course. But, Foreign Relations was disqualified and placed last after a stewards inquiry.

The DRF also reported that Prat was suspended three days by Keeneland stewards for his role in the incident.

According to the DRF, the three-day suspension for Prat will be served next week, which is the final week of the Spring Meet at Keeneland.

Gaffalione, who is the regular jockey for likely Kentucky Derby participant Verifying, entered Thursday as the leading jockey of the Keeneland Spring Meet after winning the first two races on Wednesday’s card.

Other racing incidents at Keeneland this Spring Meet

On April 13, Goin to the Show suffered a bilateral sesamoid fracture of the right front fetlock during a 6 1/2-furlong race on Keeneland’s dirt track.

In that incident, jockey Julien Leparoux pulled up Goin to the Show after crossing the finish line after the horse “became acutely lame in the right forelimb,” according to Keeneland’s incident report.

Goin to the Show was transported to the barn to meet with attending veterinarian Dr. Nicole Wettstein, who, in conjunction with Dr. Nick Smith, took radiographs of the horse and made the diagnosis.

Going to the Show was euthanized.

There were two other racing incidents on April 15 at Keeneland.

Myredwhiteandblue was pulled up after the wire after appearing off in the right front limb. According to the racing incident report, prognosis is favorable for the horse “pending further diagnostics and monitoring.”

In the other incident that day, Oldest Sister was pulled up after the wire after showing slight lameness in her left front limb.

Oldest Sister was diagnosed with an apical medial sesamoid fracture in the left front fetlock and will be referred to Rood and Riddle for surgical consultation.

The racing incident report said the prognosis is good for Oldest Sister.

Most recently, there was one racing incident Thursday at Keeneland during which the horse Pearse was pulled up in the upper stretch and vanned off.

According to the incident report, Pearse was given a courtesy ride back to the barn after the race and cooled out without incident.

Prognosis is listed as “good” for Pearse.