Horses and jockeys head for the track.
Three horses have perished at the Del Mar Racetrack in the last month, including the latest, which died Thursday, according to the state.
Miss Sugar Hill, a thoroughbred trained by Jeff Mullins, died after a training session, according to track officials and the online log of equine fatalities maintained by the California Horse Racing Board.
On July 31, Munny One, a thoroughbred trained by Ryan Hanson, died in circumstances listed as “other,” and on July 20, Night Girl, a thoroughbred trained by Luis Mendez, died in a training incident
A fourth horse, Show Your Cards, is listed by the state board as having died at Del Mar on Aug. 3, but track officials said the incident was actually at the San Luis Rey Downs training center in Bonsall.
The track’s summer season opened July 22 and continues through Sept. 11.
The last horse death at Del Mar until this summer was in Nov. 3, when Set the Tone, trained by Robert Hess Jr., was lost in a training accident.
Multiple deaths also have occurred at Los Alamitos Race Course this summer, beginning on June 15. The latest of the three deaths at the Orange County track came Tuesday, with the loss of Little Princess, and the activity listed as “other.”
The last racing death to take place, of Pray For My Owner, came May 13 at Santa Anita Park outside Los Angeles.
Updated at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022