Two Horses Fatally Injured During Training Collision at Del Mar
Updated: July 18, 2019 at 3:22 pm
The unraced juvenile Charge a Bunch (Will Take Charge), trained by Carla Gaines, and the also unraced 3-year-old Carson Valley (Distorted Humor), who hails from the Bob Baffert barn, were fatally injured after colliding during training hours at Del Mar Thursday.
The track released the news in a series of tweets:
“We are sad to confirm two horses, Charge a Bunch and Carson Valley, suffered fatal injuries after a collision during morning training. We are deeply sorry for the horses and their owners, trainers, riders and grooms.
The accident occurred when Charge a Bunch, trained by Carla Gaines, threw his rider Geovanni Franco, turned sharply and collided with Carson Valley, trained by Bob Baffert, and jockey Assael Espinoza. Assael was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Franco was not injured.”
Del Mar also tweeted the following quote from Baffert, “This was a very unfortunate accident and is a shock to everyone in the barn. We work everyday to take the best care of our horses, but sometimes freak accidents occur that are beyond anyone's control. This is one of those times and we're deeply saddened for all involved.”