DEL MAR, Calif. — Two racehorses collapsed and died at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on the opening weekend of the track's fall season.
"The 5-year-old gelding Kazuhiko collapsed and died while walking back to the barn after the 5th race at Del Mar ... a sudden death," Mike Marten, spokesman for the California Horse Racing Board, told City News Service on Sunday.
That death occurred Friday as the track kicked off its 13-date fall season.
Kazuhiko had 13 career races and one first-place finish, a win in a claiming race at Santa Anita on Sept. 30. He was owned by David A. Bernsen, LLC, and William Dan Hudock. His trainer was Peter Eurton, and his jockey was Edwin Maldonado.
A second horse collapsed at the track Sunday, was vanned off, and died.
Coast of Roan, a 6-year-old gelding, "tired" in the stretch run of Sunday's third race and was "eased to the wire" before finishing last and collapsing after the contest, according to the official race chart.
Coast of Roan had 16 starts and five first-place finishes in his career.
Del Mar's fall racing season runs until Dec. 4. The track is open Friday through Sunday, plus Thanksgiving Day through Saturday.
The track did not have a race-related fatality during its 31-day summer season, though two horses died from training injuries and two more from other causes.
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