BC Classic horse dies at Santa Anita of apparent cardiac event - Los Angeles Times
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Practical Move, top Breeders’ Cup horse, dies at Santa Anita of apparent cardiac event

Ramon Vazquez rides Practical Move.
Practical Move and jockey Ramon Vazquez winning the Grade II, $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity last December in Cypress, Calif.
(Benoit Photo)
By John CherwaSpecial Contributor 
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The Breeders’ Cup, horse racing’s most prestigious series of races, is finding itself in a public perception nightmare as one of its top horses died on Tuesday and the Belmont and Travers Stakes winner pulled out of the $6-million Classic.

Practical Move, the Santa Anita Derby winner who was considered a favorite for the Kentucky Derby before scratching out with a fever, dropped dead of an apparent cardiac event after finishing a morning gallop at Santa Anita on Tuesday, according to the Breeders’ Cup.

His rider was not hurt and the horse was immediately attended to by veterinarians, but they were unable to save him. Using defibrillators, commonly used on humans after a cardiac event, is not feasible on horses because the amount of voltage needed for a 1,000-pound-plus animal would put the person administering it at serious risk.

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In this image provided by Benoit Photo, Pin Oak Stud's Geaux Rocket Ride, ridden by Ramon Vazquez, cruises to victory in the $100,000 Affirmed Stakes horse race, Sunday, June 4, 2023 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif. Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Geaux Rocket Ride was injured during a workout Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old colt appeared to stumble in mid-stretch and was pulled up by Mike Smith, the Hall of Fame jockey. He jumped off and held Geaux Rocket Ride’s right front leg until help arrived. (Benoit Photo via AP)

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Geaux Rocket Ride suffers serious injury at Santa Anita before Breeders’ Cup

Geaux Rocket Ride became the second Breeders’ Cup horse to suffer serious injury in advance of horse racing’s biggest weekend at Santa Anita.

In addition, Arcangelo, who made Jena Antonucci the first woman trainer to win a Triple Crown race after winning the Belmont Stakes, pulled out of the Classic and was retired. The news was first reported by Joaquin Jaime of FanDuel TV. The Daily Racing Form reported that Arcangelo will be retired and stand next year at Lane’s End Farm.

“From day one, we will always be horse first, no matter what,†Antonucci said.

The horse has been dealing with a hind hoof issue since the weekend.

Arcangelo was the only Triple Crown winner scheduled to run in the Classic. Mage dropped out this week after developing a fever. National Treasure, winner of the Preakness Stakes, is scheduled to run in the Dirt Mile, the same race as Practical Move. The favorite will be Cody’s Wish.

On Saturday, Geaux Rocket Ride suffered a serious injury that ended his racing career. He underwent surgery on Sunday and the owners said that the recovery has been difficult. The 3-year-old colt is fighting for his life.

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Earlier, Echo Zulu, the 2021 Eclipse 2-year-old filly winner, also suffered an injury while training for the Breeders’ Cup but her recovery is progressing as scheduled.

The Breeders’ Cup will be held Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita.

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John Cherwa

John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders’ Cup. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida.

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