Racehorse dies at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa

A horse died Thursday after running in the opening day of Wine Country Horse Racing at the Sonoma County Fair.

The 3-year-old thoroughbred filly, Danehill Song, was locked in a competitive race this past Thursday, the first of seven days of racing scheduled through Aug. 13. After losing an early lead, the horse took a bad step during a chase in the stretch and was carted off, according to notes from the official race chart.

She was later euthanized.

The California Horse Racing Board listed the cause of Danehill Song’s death as musculoskeletal, a bone injury.

“Although the loss of the racehorse is a sad occurrence, it will not impact future decisions regarding live horse racing at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds,” Rebecca Bartling, CEO of the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and Event Center, said Sunday.

Danehill Song is the 47th racehorse to die during the 2023 California racing season.

Another horse died a day later, on Friday, at the Del Mar racetrack, according to fatality tracking by the state board.

Of the 47 horses that died this year, 23 of the deaths were due to musculoskeletal injuries while others were caused by illness or additional causes.

Racing events take place at six fairs in the state, including in Sonoma, Alameda, Sacramento, Humboldt, Fresno and Los Angeles counties.

There have been seven deaths by various causes at fair tracks this season. Five horses died at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in June and July.

“No legitimate sport would tolerate the deaths of 47 of its athletes in 32 weeks of competition in just one state,” animal rights group Kill Racing Not Horses wrote Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter in response to Danehill Song’s death.

This summer, animal activists called for the shutdown of Golden Gate Fields near Berkeley, the only major horse racing track in Northern California.

In July, owners announced the track would shutter permanently at the end of the season in order to consolidate with other venues in Southern California.

Mike Marten, public information officer for the California Horse Racing Board, noted that California has some of the toughest and most-effective laws around racing.

“In the larger picture of horse racing in California, the numbers are dropping drastically in terms of fatalities because the horse racing board and the industry have been stepping up and imposing many new restrictions,” he said. “That’s not always been received well by the owners and trainers, but they’ve come around, and I think it’s been clear that there’s a culture change in racing. Everyone is going in the same direction.”

Marten noted that in the 2022 season there were 26 musculoskeletal deaths, which is the primary type caused by intense training, down from 39 the year before. He attributes the decline to stepped-up oversight and dozens of new regulations and said officials are looking to keep adding protections.

“Each year, those numbers come down, down, down,” he said. “Of course, 26 is too many. We’re not satisfied with 26, and we’re going to keep looking for ways to reduce the injuries.”

You can reach reporter Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.