Report: 22nd Horse Dies at Santa Anita Park in Less Than Three Months
Another racehorse suffered a fatal injury at Santa Anita on Thursday, marking the 22nd since Dec. 22, according to Brad Free of the Daily Racing Form.
A filly, Princess Lili B, broke both front legs at the conclusion of a half-mile workout and was later euthanized.
The fatality occurred one day after the main track had been re-opened for training, according to the Los Angeles Times. Per Free, training will continue on the track, despite the incident.
It marks the third death since a soil expert recently claimed the track was "100% ready" for racing to resume.
A total of 196 horses safely worked out on the track Wednesday, a Santa Anita spokesman told the Times, with 112 working out on the main track and 84 on the training track.
The reasons for the high rate of fatalities is unknown, but rainy weather in Southern California has been blamed. PETA has previously faulted veternarians and trainers for dosing horses with cocktails of anti-flammatories and painkillers to keep them running while they are injured.
