NYRA officials scratched a pair of horses from the third race at Saratoga Friday because their last start, the GIII Robert G. Dick Memorial S. at Delaware, has seen four horses encounter problems in their next starts back. The Daily Racing Form was the first to report the story.
Both of the top two finishers, winner Sopran Basilea (Night of Thunder {Ire}) and runner up Ever Summer (Summer Front) suffered fatal injuries over the Saratoga turf in the last week. Sopran Basilea finished fourth in the GII Glens Falls S. Aug. 3 but injured her left foreleg on the gallop out and was humanely euthanized. Ever Summer sustained her injury in an allowance race Aug. 6 which also saw Frivole (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}), the last-place finisher in the Robert Dick, get pulled up after a misstep early in the race. Delaware's fourth-place runner, Talbeyah (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) was a vet scratch out of that same allowance race the morning of Aug. 6.
The two scratched runners affected Friday, Parnac (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) and Lady Rockstar (GB) (Frankel {GB}) were both reported to be fine.
“Of the seven starters exiting the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park [7/1/23], two have suffered fatal injuries at Saratoga Race Course during the 2023 summer meet, one was eased and vanned off, and another was scratched out of a race at Saratoga based on the recommendation of the NYRA veterinarian,” said NYRA Vice President of Communications Patrick McKenna. “This highly unusual confluence cannot be ignored, which is why NYRA asked the trainers of Lady Rockstar and Parnac, the respective third and fifth-place finishers in the Robert G. Dick, to scratch from Race 3 today to allow for additional information to be gathered. To that end, PET scans will be performed on Lady Rockstar and Parnac at clinics chosen by their respective connections. The results will be evaluated by NYRA regulatory veterinarians and New York State Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott Palmer.”
“Should the PET scans and further examinations reveal nothing out of the ordinary, then those horses will be permitted to enter races during the summer meet,” McKenna continued. “While we understand this decision may be frustrating to the connections of Lady Rockstar and Parnac, the application of an extra level of scrutiny is appropriate in this instance. The health and safety of horses and jockeys competing at NYRA tracks is paramount. NYRA will apply the same requirements to all horses who started in the Robert G. Dick. NYRA will cover all costs associated with the PET scans.”
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