The Times published a related article, below.
Joe Drape reported from Louisville, Ky., and Lexington, Ky., and Melissa Hoppert from New York.
May 2, 2024
The Kentucky Derby has been run through two World Wars, the Great Depression, civil rights unrest and, most recently, a life-paralyzing pandemic. Now, on the 150th anniversary of America’s most famous race, the Sport of Kings faces another formidable foe: itself.
Last year, beneath Churchill Downs’s iconic twin spires, seven horses died during the week of the showpiece event — two of them in races in the hours leading up to the Derby. In the days after, five more sustained fatal injuries, prompting Churchill officials to move their races to another Kentucky racetrack.
It got worse. A colt trained by the sport’s most recognized and controversial trainer, Bob Baffert, died at Pimlico Race Course hours before Mr. Baffert saddled the winner of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. Two more horses not trained by Mr. Baffert died in races surrounding the Belmont Stakes, the third leg, in June.
read the rest here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/b...cky-derby.html
