McKinzie took the lead at the three-quarter mile marker with Mongolian Groom still challenging strongly ahead of War of Will, Vino Rosso and Owendale.
On the final turn, Vino Rosso surged through the field to challenge McKinzie, and the two horses sprinted toward the finish, leaving the group behind as the Classic became a two-horse race. McKinzie had no response to the dominant stretch of Vino Rosso who powered on to win the race by four and a quarter lengths.
The win, however, was marred by a severe injury to Mongolian Groom who had started the Classic strongly but faded when rounding the home turn. His Jockey, Abel Cedillo pulled up the horse, and a spokesperson for the Breeder’s cup confirmed that the horse had been taken to Santa Anita’s equine hospital.
The horse was found to have sustained an injury to his left hind ankle, and the decision was made to put Mongolian Groom down. In a statement released by the Breeder’s Cup organisers, they explain that radiographs were taken which showed the horse had suffered a serious fracture to his left hind limb and given the extent of the injury, five senior vets recommended the humane euthanasia of Mongolian Groom.
Mongolian Groom becomes the 37th fatality at Santa Anita since last December, a stat that has led to increased scrutiny on the sport with many questioning if owners and course bosses were pressured to race more horses because fuller fields help maximise profits.
The Santa Anita racecourse has seen a spike in horse deaths this year with 20 fatalities in just three and a half months during the winter-spring meet. It’s a familiar story at other tracks in America, the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens had 21 deaths between Nov. 30, 2011, and March 18, 2012.
These fatalities led to the New York Racing Association creating a task force who spent five months examining every aspect of racing in the City’s courses. Jockeys and owners were granted anonymity to enable the authorities to gain a real understanding of horse welfare and conditions. The 100-page report suggested reforms which resulted in the fatality rate dropping from 2.19 to 1.20 per 1,000 starts.
What is baffling for experts is that Santa Anita has incorporated the suggested reforms, but the track has not seen the reduction in deaths that was seen in Queens. In 2018, the national average was 1.68 deaths per 1,000 racing starts, Santa Anita is averaging 2.04 and the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs is well above the average at 2.73.
Breeder’s Cup Classic full results; 1st Vino Rosso, 2nd McKinzie, 3rd Higher Power, 4th Elate, 5th Math Wizard, 6th Seeking the Soul, 7th Code of Honor, 8th Yoshida, 9th War of Will, 10th Owendale, 11th Mongolian Groom
