Horse deaths continue at Santa Anita Park after filly suffers ‘sudden death’ 

A 4-year-old filly suffered a “sudden death” immediately following Friday’s seventh race at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, state horse racing officials confirmed to City News Service on Saturday.

Pray for My Owner is the seventh horse to die while racing or training at Santa Anita this year, according to the California Horse Racing Board.

A postmortem examination could determine her exact cause of death, according to Mike Marten, CHRB public information officer.

Pray for My Owner had seven races and one first-place finish in her career. She was owned by Mark Cohen and trained by Mark Glatt. Her jockey was Drayden Van Dyke.

Officials at the Arcadia track have noted that the number of fatalities in 2022 are a sharp decline from 2019, when 42 horses died at the facility, sparking widespread debate about safety issues at the track and about horse racing in general. The uproar led to procedural and veterinary oversight changes at the park.

According to the CHRB, 16 horses died at the track in 2020, and 19 died last year.