Horse euthanized one race after Belmont Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. — This year’s horse racing Triple Crown ended on a somber note on Saturday, as a horse broke down in the race following the Belmont Stakes and was euthanized.

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One race after Arcangelo won the final leg of the Triple Crown, Excursionniste was pulled up by jockey Flavien Plat, The Associated Press reported.

The horse, who was running in a 1 1/6-mile race on turf at Belmont Park, suffered a “catastrophic injury to his left leg,” according to a statement handed out by New York Racing Association spokesperson Pat McKenna.

The horse was put down after the race.

“Devastated. There’s just no other word,” the horse’s owner, Little Blue Bird Stables, wrote on Twitter. “He was our big, goofy, talented, crazy, 1 for 16 NYB superstar. We do everything as a team, and will console as one for quite a while.”

It was the third horse to die at Belmont in 2023, with one euthanized last week, according to the AP.

Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, suspended racing operations and moved its meet to Ellis Park in the wake of 12 horse fatalities in the days leading up to and after the Kentucky Derby.

At Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, Havnameltdown was euthanized after being injured several races before the Preakness Stakes.

The 3-year-old colt, the favorite in the sixth race and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, called the Chick Lang Stakes, fell during the final turn on the inside on the stretch run at the track, The Baltimore Sun reported.

In a statement emailed to AP, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said officials at Belmont Park did not do enough to prevent Excursionniste’s death.

“Racing couldn’t manage to keep all horses alive for even one Triple Crown day this year,” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said in a statement.

She added that PETA had urged for CT scans that would screen horses for preexisting injuries.

“They refused,” Guillermo said. “The racing industry is digging its own grave -- as well as this horse’s.”