Horses die in consecutive races at Belmont Park, following history-making event

Horses died successful consecutive races astatine Belmont Park, dealing much untimely blows to the beleaguered athletics which had small clip to observe of its astir uplifting events of the year.

Mashnee Girl, trained by Mark Hennig, broke down successful the archetypal contention connected Sunday, suffering a catastrophic wounded to her near beforehand limb astatine the storied contention people conscionable extracurricular of New York City earlier she was enactment down.

"Despite the contiguous effect and champion efforts of on-site attending veterinarians, the equine was humanely euthanized owed to the severity of the injury," New York Racing Association Vice President Patrick McKenna said successful a connection connected Sunday.

About 17 hours earlier, successful the 13th contention connected Saturday, a akin destiny befell Hennig-trained Excursionniste, was also suffered a fatal wounded to the beforehand near ankle.

Both tragedies happened connected Belmont's turf people arsenic the tract was nearing the apical of the stretch.

"I'm not holding up precise well," an affectional Hennig told NBC News, sniffling passim the conversation. "It's been precise emotional. I conscionable can't fathom this ever happening, 2 horses you tally successful a row. I mean I've tally implicit 10,000 horses and person ne'er had thing adjacent to this."

That calamity unfolded conscionable aft the 12th race, when Arcangelo won the Belmont Stakes and made Jena Antonucci the first pistillate trainer to win a Triple Crown jewel.

Animal rights radical PETA was speedy to blasted Belmont for the duplicate tragedies.

"Two dormant Thoroughbreds successful 2 days with the aforesaid trainer connected the aforesaid way means 1 thing: Belmont Park is failing to support horses," PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said successful a statement. "Like Churchill Downs, Belmont indispensable suspend racing instantly to debar the aforesaid bloodbath. Anything little makes Belmont complicit successful the fatalities."

Including Mashnee Girl and Excursionniste, 4 horses person died during races astatine Belmont Park's spring/summer meet, which began connected May 4 and has encompassed 1,670 horses starting in 214 races, according to McKenna.

"NYRA's broad information strategy is informed by the astir precocious subject and probe successful consultation with autarkic experts, veterinarians, and horsemen," the NYRA rep said. "The wellness and information of horses and jockeys competing astatine NYRA tracks is our highest precedence and 1 that stands supra each different considerations."

Mashnee Girl and Excursionniste some had cleanable bills of wellness with nary interest for racing, their trainer said.

"Neither 1 of them has been connected a vet's list, they're clean-legged horses," Hennig said. "It's conscionable horrible, horrible, horrible luck. These horses were successful good, dependable racing condition. These 2 horses ne'er had issues with these ankles, the aforesaid ankles that fractured."

Saturday's Belmont Stakes capped a tumultuous 5 weeks of racing that usually shines a agleam airy connected the athletics of kings. Instead, a drawstring of untimely decease raised questions astir the sport's viability.

A week agone Friday, Churchill Downs, big of the Kentucky Derby, announced it had temporarily stopped racing determination to analyse its caller fatalities.

And soon before National Treasure won the Preakness, the ordinarily party-filled time at Pimlico Race Course successful Baltimore was overshadowed by calamity erstwhile Havnameltdown broke down astatine the apical of the agelong of the $200,000 Grade IIII Chick Lang Stakes and had to beryllium enactment down.