A 3 year old filly trained by Ken McPeek - Daylasoul - broke loose this morning. She was stabled off site on Gridley Ave., broke loose, and ran all the way to Rte 9 before being struck by a tractor-trailer. She had to be put down right afterwards.
http://saratogian.com/articles/2011/07/14/news/doc4e1efa803009d526625498.txt
That is sad but I would not consider that to be a racing related fatality. Certainly had nothing to do with the track. That must have been horrible for all involved though.
Not that it makes this sad story any less tragic, but at least it removes any image in anyone’s mind that Daylasoul ended up obliterated by an 18-wheeler like so many deer in Upstate:
McPeek said he believes the filly fell while running on the road, adding, “she didn’t get run over by a vehicle.”
McPeek said the filly suffered a broken elbow from the incident and was able to be walked onto an equine ambulance. She was not euthanized until she had been transported back to the barn, where the broken elbow was diagnosed. According to the Albany-Times Union website, Saratoga police said the [incident was] in front of the Lincoln Bath House near the entrance to Saratoga State Park.
She was to have raced August 1st. Poor gal 
My heart goes out to connections.
There but for the grace of God go I. Last week my big guy had himself a little panic, got loose, and ran to beat the band around my property. Thankfully instead of heading to the road he tried to get back to his stall, but he went down hard when he reached the concrete aisle. Banged his knee up good, practically gave me heart failure, but fortunately the biggest thing hurt is his pride.
He so easily could have broken something, or hit a car. :no:
ok, not to accuse any one of any thing. But if you have a horse property, especially near a road why aren’t there closed gates?
Every place I have ever kept my horse had gates, with one exception, but it was miles down a dirt road, off of a quiet street.
The gates are a hassle (there was one place where I had to open and close -from the car- three to get to the horses!), but I always felt better knowing that there was a fence and a gate between my horse and the cars on the road.
Zoom in on this link…
There are 2 tracks at Saratoga. One on either side of the roads and barns on both sides. Depending on where you train daily you may be going back and forth multiple times a day. And this particular filly was not stabled at the track, but rather at a neighboring barn. Which also happens at Saratoga.
Gates are not useful in a situation with this much equine traffic. And its worth noting that this isn’t a common occurence.
~Emily
Well…somebody is lying:
[I]dovetail wrote on Jul 14, 2011 2:00 PM:
" I happened to be driving by there on my way to work this morning when it happened. The truck was not speeding. It was an awful,disturbing accident. I’m sure the driver and everyone who stopped were sick about it.[/I] "
http://saratogian.com/articles/2011/07/14/news/doc4e1efa803009d526625498.txt?viewmode=comments
[QUOTE=Laurierace;5719562]
That is sad but I would not consider that to be a racing related fatality. Certainly had nothing to do with the track. That must have been horrible for all involved though.[/QUOTE] Well, it may not be right on the NYRA property, but the barns across the way (Gridley is across from the backstretch entrance) are now all used for the Saratoga meet. Used to be for the harness horses, but many have been taken over as more space is demanded for the Thoroughbreds.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;5719714]Not that it makes this sad story any less tragic, but at least it removes any image in anyone’s mind that Daylasoul ended up obliterated by an 18-wheeler like so many deer in Upstate:
She was to have raced August 1st. Poor gal :([/QUOTE]
So glad to hear that - the story has been evolving throughout the day in the Saratogian - from one or two lines, to including the name of the trainer and horse, to now a description.
[QUOTE=Appsolute;5719844]ok, not to accuse any one of any thing. But if you have a horse property, especially near a road why aren’t there closed gates?
Every place I have ever kept my horse had gates, with one exception, but it was miles down a dirt road, off of a quiet street.
The gates are a hassle (there was one place where I had to open and close -from the car- three to get to the horses!), but I always felt better knowing that there was a fence and a gate between my horse and the cars on the road.[/QUOTE]
The Saratoga Thoroughbred track and barns encompass an area that go across several streets on the east side of the city. There are almost always guards at each entrance and exit to stop vehicles both entering grounds, and traveling the streets - but way too much traffic, especially now, to have any gates closed and left that way.
This is an extremely unusual circumstance. When any of them take off from works or a race, if they don’t go to a barn area immediately behind a track, they cross Union Ave., where the guards are posted.
The backstretch contains Horse Haven, with barns and another small oval right behind the main track. But actually, the Oklahoma track where she worked, across Union Ave. is the original track, with barns also located there. On any given day there are guards stopping traffic throughout the day to let the horses across. Where this filly’s stall was would have been perpindicular, across the street from the Main Track. So before this all happened, she was probably ridden a nice hack from the Oklahoma Track, back through the main grounds, then across the street to the barns on Gridley. And then when she took off, she would have headed in totally the opposite direction from where she came, past the harness track and barns, and apparently almost 1&1/2 - 2 miles along a very green area, although all paved roads, to meet 4 lane Rte 9.
This is not racing related in that she ran no race today, but she is in barns for that purpose, and had just returned from a work immediately before it happened, according to the reports. Either way, it is terrible to have accomplished bringing her up here - feel very sorry for all her connections, especially those whose control she was in just before she reacted.
In addition to the aforementioned reasons of practicality and traffic, my guy jumps fences. There is a law where I live limiting roadfront fences to 4’ max.
Shit happens. It’s sad. It’s tragic. It was avoidable, but shit happens
My point was that the fatality wasn’t related to racing. It wasn’t like her leg snapped off coming down the stretch or she clipped heels and broke her neck on the way down. This could have happened anywhere to anyone.
Laurierace…
Agree. It was an unfortunate accident.
[QUOTE=Blinkers On;5720032]
Shit happens. It’s sad. It’s tragic. It was avoidable, but shit happens[/QUOTE]
How was it avoidable? (Or, do you just believe any accident is avoidable on some level, that’s why they are called accidents?)
I’ve been in the barn in question. It is all the way at the far end of Gridley from the track. It’s a single shed-row barn without a full fence around it. Racehorses have been stabled there for decades (I was in it when a friend rented it about 20 years ago) and to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time a horse stabled there was hurt on the road.
The spot where the filly was killed is about 1 1/2 miles away, so she really motored, past the harness track, past Pennells and all the way down Crescent to Rt9 near the Arts Center.
I have no idea what happened, maybe she spooked when entering her stall and overpowered the handler, maybe she figured out how to get by the webbing. It’s terrible indeed and since I know Ken McPeek, it’s all the worse. That said, it was an accident, one of those things that happens when dealing with horses.
Ed. If you look at the maps Emily posted, the barn is at the corner of Gridley and Jefferson S, well away from the track.
As for traffic on Rt 9 it’s about 45 mph in that general area and no one driving there expects to see a loose horse on a rampage.
[quote=laserRob;5719958]
Well…somebody is lying:
[I]dovetail wrote on Jul 14, 2011 2:00 PM:
" I happened to be driving by there on my way to work this morning when it happened. The truck was not speeding. It was an awful,disturbing accident. I’m sure the driver and everyone who stopped were sick about it.[/I] "
For heaven’s sake, NO ONE IS LYING. The witness saw a horse lying in the road and truck that STOPPED near the horse. The witness DOES NOT SAY he saw the truck hit the horse.
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