2 horses die from training injuries at Los Alamitos Race Course

Two racehorses died in the past week after suffering injuries while training at Los Alamitos Race Course, state horse racing officials said.

Alsalam, a 3-year-old colt who had not yet competed in a race, died Jan. 9, according to the California Horse Racing Board. His last official workout was Dec. 27, according to the website Equibase.

Alsalam was trained by Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer who’s had numerous horses fail drug tests over the years and was temporarily suspended last year by the CHRB and the Kentucky Racing Commission over the positive medication test by disqualified Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

Big Future, a 3-year-old gelding who was also unraced, died Jan. 8, one day after his last listed workout at Los Alamitos. He was trained by Genaro Vallejo.

Both deaths are listed as musculoskeletal, and no further information about the cause was immediately available.

The Cypress track also experienced two racehorse deaths over New Year’s weekend. Famous Miss Kitty, a 3-year-old filly with 10 races and three first-place finishes in her career, won the ninth race at Los Alamitos on Dec. 31, but “was injured past the wire … requiring euthanasia,” Mike Marten, public information officer with the CHRB, told City News Service.

The following day, In My Heart, a 5-year-old filly, finished third in the ninth race before her death was announced two days later by the CHRB. Los Alamitos officials did not respond to an inquiry about the nature of her injury.

Counting Famous Miss Kitty, 20 racehorses died at Los Alamitos in 2022, nine from racing injuries, three from training injuries and eight from “other” causes, according to CHRB data.

The track took a series of steps aimed at improving safety in 2022 following a spate of four horse deaths in an 11-day span.

Eleven horses died from racing or training injuries at the Cypress track in 2021, with another two deaths listed as “other.” The track was briefly placed on probation by the CHRB in July 2020. At that time, at least 20 horses had died there that year from racing or training injuries.

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