Two Horses Die From Racing Injuries at Los Alamitos

Two horses died after suffering racing injuries Saturday night at Los Alamitos Race Course, state horse racing officials confirmed Sunday.

Perky Cowgirl, a 2-year-old filly running in her third career race, collapsed to the ground and threw her jockey shortly after breaking from the gate in Saturday's second race, requiring euthanasia.

Midnight Huckabee, a 2-year-old gelding running his fourth race, "immediately died from injuries sustained when he fell during the running of the 12th race Saturday at Los Alamitos," California Horse Racing Board spokesman Mike Marten told City News Service.

Midnight Huckabee had finished second in all three of his previous races.

A third horse appeared to suffer an injury after winning Saturday's 10th race. Laredeaux, a 2-year-old gelding with first-place finishes in two of his three career races prior to Saturday, was ambulanced off after the race. No further information about his condition was available.

Twelve horses have died from racing or training injuries at Los Alamitos this year, according to the CHRB.

Los Alamitos had 13 horses die from racing or training injuries in 2023.

The Cypress track is also dealing with an outbreak of Equine Infectious Anemia, a potentially fatal infectious disease.

Bullet Train V, a 2-year-old colt with two career races, was euthanized Sept. 24 after he was found to have EIA. Biosecurity measures were put in place at the track, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture was overseeing the situation.

Since then, six more horses have been euthanized with EIA. They are:

— Opt In, a 3-year-old gelding with eight career races;

— El Vencedor V, a 2-year-old gelding with four career races;

— Amore For A Reason, a 3-year-old filly with eight career races;

— Goodtyme, a 3-year-old gelding with nine career races;

— Assaultt, a 2-year-old colt with five career races;

— The Marksman V, a 3-year-old gelding with 10 career races.

All seven horses were trained by Heath Taylor, according to the CHRB. The Daily Racing Form reported that Taylor also trained six horses who were euthanized with EIA in Texas.

The 54-year-old trainer, who has 36 horses in training at Los Alamitos, told the publication that all 13 euthanized horses were based at The Downs at Albuquerque around the time of Labor Day weekend, and tested negative in August, with the Texas-based horses testing negative again in mid-September.

"I've done above and beyond my due diligence to ensure safety. We're working in every facet to find an origin," Taylor said, according to the DRF. "This is my 29th year of training. I've never had one of these ever. It's pretty painful. It affects multiple owners."