24th Horse Dies In Los Alamitos Race Course

CYPRESS, CA — Billy the Hott, a 5-year-old gelding, died after suffering an injury while racing at Los Alamitos this weekend, track officials confirmed to City News Service Sunday.

Billy the Hott is the 24th horse to die in a racing or training injury at the Cypress track this year. He pulled up and was vanned off in the eight race Saturday and died a short time later, Los Alamitos marketing director Orlando Gutierrez said.

The horse was owned by Bo Hirsch LLC and trained by Martin F. Jones. His jockey was Tiago Josue Pereira, according to the industry website Equibase.

Verifiable, a 2-year-old filly, also pulled up and was vanned off in Saturday's seventh race, but she was back in her barn Sunday and doing well, Gutierrez told CNS.

Nighttime quarter horse racing continued at Los Alamitos over the Labor Day weekend without fans due to the coronavirus, and despite the massive heat wave gripping the Southland

Saturday's high in Los Alamitos was 104 degrees, with a low of 86. Sunday's forecast called for a high of 102 and a low of 73.

The California Horse Racing Board recommends using a "heat stress index" for determining whether it's safe to hold races in extreme heat. The HSI is determined by adding the temperature and the humidity and subtracting wind, though regulators advise only using heat and humidity because wind velocity is too variable from race to race.

Humidity has been relatively light this weekend despite extremely high temperatures, and was 43% in Los Alamitos at midday Sunday.

"Horses generate a tremendous amount of heat even during relatively short episodes of intense exercise, such as racing. Horses, as humans, dissipate heat by sweat," according to a statement from Rick Arthur, the CHRB's equine medical director. "HSI is a simple way to estimate the ability of a horse to dissipate heat naturally. Horses start losing their natural ability to dissipate heat at HSI 130; they cannot dissipate heat at or above HSI 180."

Arthur recommends heat mitigation procedures when the number is above 150, which he calls "uncomfortable," and says serious consideration should be given to cancelling racing when it is over 170.

Los Alamitos officials did not reply to a request for comment about whether they've considered postponing racing this weekend.

CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney told CNS that "our heat policy is well explained on our website under the racing safety tab."

Meanwhile, jockey Vinnie Bednar, who was injured when he was thrown to the track in Los Alamitos' most recent fatal horse injury before this weekend, reportedly was suffering lower limb paralysis and preparing to travel to Colorado to seek treatment from specialists.

Bednar had surgery at County USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, and remains hospitalized while awaiting transfer to the Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, according to Thoroughbred Daily News.

Bednar was injured Aug. 22 when he was thrown to the track while riding Peek It Up, a 3-year-old filly who later died from her injury. Video of the race shows the horse running fast on the outside when she injures a front leg, slamming violently face-first into the turf and throwing Bednar.

According to TDN, jockeys Javier Castellano, Mike Smith, John Velazquez, Manuel Franco and Tyler Gaffalione pledged a percentage of their earnings from the GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Kentucky Derby race cards this weekend to help the 28-year-old Bednar with his medical expenses.

"Vinnie was overcome with emotion when I told him that some of the country's top jockeys had reached out and wanted to help. He couldn't believe that they were thinking about him while they are amid their big race weekend at Churchill Downs," Bednar's mother, Karen Bednar, told the publication.

City News Service