RACING FORUM

Posted: **Wed Apr 10, 2013 21:50 pm**

California racing saw a sharp increase last year in the number of fatalities due to cardiac failures. Eleven horses were reported as having died in this manner during fiscal year 2012 (July 1 through June 30) compared with six in FY 2011 and four in FY 2009, according to a California Horse Racing Board annual report.

Equally concerning is that a reported seven out of the 11—or 64%—of the horses that died from cardiac failure statewide had been stabled with leading Southern California trainer and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, according to several trainers and exercise riders who watched the horses drop during training hours.