Two horses died when they collided at California’s Del Mar racetrack on Thursday.
“We are sad to confirm two horses, Charge A Bunch and Carson Valley, suffered fatal injuries after a collision during morning training,” read a post on the track’s Twitter page. “We are deeply sorry for the horses and their owners, trainers, riders and grooms. “
The accident between 2-year-old Charge A Bunch and 3-year-old Carson Valley came during the first week of Del Mar’s meet. It also comes after 30 horses died at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., earlier this year. Charge A Bunch and Carson Valley were unraced.
Charge A Bunch threw his rider, Geovanni Franco, during training and began to run the opposite way down the track, colliding with Carson Valley and rider Assael Espinoza.
Franco did not require medical attention, but Espinoza was transported to an area hospital with lower back pain. His agent, Brian Beach, called it a “mild sprain” and said he hopes Espinoza could return to the track this weekend.
Carson Valley was trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, while Carla Baines trained Charge A Bunch.
“This was a very unfortunate accident and it is a shock to everyone in the barn,” Baffert said in the statement released by Del Mar. “We work every day to take the best care of our horses but sometimes freak accidents occur that are beyond anyone’s ability to control. This is one of those times and we’re deeply saddened for the horses and everyone involved.”
–Field Level Media
