Horse death Sunday at Belmont Park brings up toll to six

The cloud that has hung over horse racing since just before the Kentucky Derby continued on Sunday when a horse was euthanized after falling in the first race at Belmont Park. It is the sixth fatality since May 4 during racing or training at the Elmont, N.Y., track. It was also the second in two days, with a horse dying in the last race after Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.

Mashnee Girl fell near the quarter pole entering the stretch in an allowance race for fillies and mares. The horse was euthanized on the track. The cause of the fall will be determined by a necropsy but was likely a fracture in one or both of her legs.

Both Excursionniste, who was euthanized on Saturday, and Mashnee Girl were trained by Mark Hennig. According to the New York Equine Death and Breakdown report, Hennig has not had a fatality since 2021, when he had two, one at Belmont Park and the other at Saratoga. Hennig has won more than $81 million with over 10,000 starts in a career that spans more than three decades.

Mashnee Girl, a 5-year-old mare, was making her 20^th lifetime start, having won three times and won $194,065 in purses. She was bred and owned by Mashnee Stables.

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The latest crisis over the safety of horses started nine days before the Kentucky Derby when Wild on Ice, a Kentucky Derby entrant, broke down during training and was shipped to an equine hospital in Lexington where his injuries were deemed irreparable. So far, at least 12 horses have died in a span of a few weeks as the result of racing or training at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission does not have a database of equine deaths like New York and California.

Churchill Downs suspended racing just over a week ago and moved its remaining dates to Ellis Park. Training continues at Churchill Downs.

There was one fatality during racing during the short Pimlico meet that surrounds the Preakness Stakes.