Horse dies after race at Los Alamitos; 2nd fatality in last 4 days

Another racehorse has died at Los Alamitos — the second fatality at the Cypress track in four days — state horse racing officials confirmed.

Apollitical Jet, a 2-year-old sorrel gelding with eight career starts and two victories, finished eighth in a 10-horse field in Sunday’s 10th race and was vanned off the course after the race. He was listed as a “sudden death” on the California Horse Racing Board website.

He is the 10th horse to die from a racing or training injury at Los Alamitos Race Course in 2022. Another six racehorses have died from “other” causes this year, according to the CHRB.

January Magic, a 2-year-old colt with just one race in his career, died Thursday after suffering a training injury.

Earlier this year, Los Alamitos took a series of steps aimed at improving safety following a spate of four horse deaths in an 11-day span.

According to the CHRB, Los Alamitos has eliminated the use of “high toe grabs” — similar to cleats worn by football players to give them better traction on turf — on rear horseshoes. The track also eliminated the “breaking bar” in quarter-horse races. The bar is similar to a starting block in track meets, adding traction at the start of a race.

The track also consulted with a racing surface expert to determine if the track surface is a contributing factor to the injuries, and it contacted UC Davis to “fund a study of lumbar fractures in quarter-horses,” CHRB officials said.

Eleven horses died from racing or training injuries at Los Alamitos in 2021, with another two deaths listed as “other.” The track was briefly placed on probation by the CHRB in July 2020 due to a spate of racehorse deaths. At that time, at least 20 horses had died at the track in 2020 after suffering racing or training injuries.

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