Santa Anita checking for rules violations after 26th horse death

The owner of Santa Anita is investigating whether new rules were followed before the 26th horse death at the track since the season began Dec. 26.

Kochees, a 9-year-old gelding, was euthanized Sunday after injuring his left front leg in a race a day earlier. It was the third horse death in nine days.

Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for the Stronach Group, told the Associated Press on Monday the track’s owner was looking into whether protocols were followed leading up to the gelding being euthanized.

“If those rules were not followed, consequences will be swift,” he said. “I’m not going to get into specifics of that incident, but anybody who thinks they can sort of skirt the rules and perhaps there was an old way of doing things, it’s not going to fly anymore.”

Among the rules put in place since March is that a trainer’s veterinarian must sign off on a horse’s fitness before the track’s veterinarian also takes a look at the animal ahead of its training or racing.

Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Kochees was pulled up by jockey Mario Gutierrez entering the top of the stretch in the 5½-furlong race Saturday. The gelding was taken off the track via van and had a splint applied to his leg.

The injury appeared to be correctable through surgery. When doctors realized, however, that the horse had lost blood flow to the leg, he was euthanized.

“We wouldn’t have led him over if we didn’t like him. We thought he would run real well, we thought he would win,” Hollendorfer said. “In my mind, there is absolutely no doubt that we’ve done every single thing properly with Kochees and all the rest of our horses, too.”

Hollendorfer has lost two other horses during the meeting.

“We certainly are pretty sad when they get hurt,” he said.

The track’s previous fatality was Spectacular Music, an unraced 3-year-old gelding who suffered a pelvic injury during training on May 19 and was euthanized the next day after his condition worsened. Commander Coil was injured May 18 during a gallop on the training track and was euthanized.

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The seven-week stretch without any incidents — before the three deaths in the last two weekends — was described by Friedman as “pretty much an unprecedented run of safety as far as catastrophic injuries go.”

“We believe that’s in part because the reforms are starting to take hold and work,” he said.