Three horses die at Berkeley racetrack in one week

Three racehorses died over the past week at Golden Gate Fields, prompting outrage from those closely following equine deaths at California tracks.

Inimitable, a 2-year-old thoroughbred, was euthanized on the track Friday after falling near the quarter pole during the first race of the day. A cause of death for the horse is pending, according to the California Horse Racing Board.

The death is the 25th racehorse death over the last 11 months at Golden Gate Fields, and the 67th statewide, statistics from the horse racing board show.

The board’s list of equine fatalities shows that the last four horse deaths to occur at California racing facilities were at the Berkeley racetrack.

Staci Sanders, who tracks equine deaths at the Berkeley racetrack for the group Kill Races Not Horses, asked:

“If there were 67 athletics who died during any other sport there would be outrage, why not for the deaths of these poor horses?” 

A spokesperson for Golden Gate Fields did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Inimitable was one of three racehorses that died at Golden Gate Fields during the past week. The other two, Galloping Slew and Ima Rumbler, died during training on Nov. 14 and 16, respectively. The cause of their deaths was listed as musculoskeletal.

Another horse died of colic at the Berkeley track on Nov. 6, according to the horse board.

Twenty-seven horses died at Golden Gate Fields in 2020. Attention to horse deaths grew recently, after 23 horses died at Santa Anita Park in Southern California over three months in early 2019.

The California Horse Racing Board’s list of equine fatalities is available here.

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