Repairs have been ordered at Laurel Park after a series of injuries to racehorses at the track. There will be no racing at the track at least through Sunday.
There have been 18 horse deaths at Laurel this year, Maryland racing officials said. Eight deaths occurred during training, six during races, and four more were unrelated to racing or training.
Records show that’s approximately the number of horse deaths that occur at tracks statewide in a year.
The Maryland Jockey Club and track operators said they are making repairs at the track and conducting an analysis of the equine injuries. They said they’ll be reviewing the composition of the track surface and how it’s maintained.
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In a written statement, they said until now they’ve experienced the lowest fatality rate in the track’s history.
Records show, as of a few years ago, there were one or two horse deaths for every 1,000 horses that start a race.
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