Horse trainer suspended from Kentucky Derby after two horses mysteriously die

Lord Miles, a horse trained by Saffie Joseph Jr, was scratched from the Kentucky Derby after his trainer was suspended (Picture: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

A horse trainer was suspended from the Kentucky Derby just two days before the race after two horses trained by the man died.

Horse trainer Saffie Joseph Jr was indefinitely suspended from the Kentucky Derby on Thursday evening, the Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) racetrack said.

‘The suspension prohibits Joseph, or any trainer directly or indirectly employed by Joseph, from entering horses in races or applying for stall occupancy at all CDI-owned racetracks,’ the racetrack stated in a press release.

Additionally, Lord Miles, a horse Joseph trained, was scratched from Saturday’s race.

Saffie Joseph Jr trains a horse at Churchill Downs. The third-generation trainer was suspended from the racetrack on Thursday (Picture: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con)

The move comes after two horses trained by Joseph, Parents Pride and Chasing Artie, collapsed and died suddenly after races last week.

Joseph said the Kentucky Horseracing Commission questioned him, but have yet to find any wrongdoing on his part.

The trainer has since scratched five more horses from various races on Saturday, and plans to scratch any others that came into contact with the two who died. He said a necropsy performed on one horse failed to determine a cause of death.

‘We’re living on unknown terms right now, so that’s the uneasy part,’ Joseph said.

Horses work out at Churchill Downs as the moon sets in the distance (Picture: AP)

Joseph, a third-generation horse trainer from Barbados, said he was distraught over the mysterious deaths. ‘It crushes you. It knocks your confidence, it makes you doubt everything,’ the trainer said.

Meanwhile, the Churchill Downs confirmed that none of the trainer’s horses would be running in the 149th Kentucky Derby, one of the premier thoroughbred horse races in the United States.

‘Given the unexplained sudden deaths, we have reasonable concerns about the condition of his horses, and decided to suspend him indefinitely until details are analyzed and understood,’ CDI President Bill Mudd said. ‘The safety of our equine and human athletes and integrity of our sport is our highest priority.’

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