Vino Rosso's victory Saturday at the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park was overshadowed by the death of Mongolian Groom.
The 4-year-old gelding suffered an injury to its left hind leg while racing in the homestretch and was later taken off the track via horse ambulance. Breeders' Cup Ltd., which operates the Breeders' Cup, announced Saturday night that Mongolian Groom had been euthanized.
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"The death of Mongolian Groom is a loss to the entire horse racing community," Breeders' Cup Ltd. said in its statement. "We have worked closely with Santa Anita leading up to the World Championships to promote enhanced equine safety."
Mongolian Groom is the 37th horse to die at Santa Anita since last Dec. 26. The fatalities have brought the track into the national spotlight and posed serious questions about racing there in the future.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called last April for racing to be suspended at the track. This week, she called the two-day Breeders' Cup a "critical test for the future of horse racing in California."
Racing was temporarily suspended at Santa Anita in February and again in March as an investigation into horse deaths at the track was launched.