Exercise rider killed in Churchill Downs tragedy

A work-rider for top American trainer Kenny McPeek was killed this morning in a training accident at Churchill Downs in Kentucky on Saturday morning.

Odanis Acuna, 42, who had been working for McPeek for around a decade, incurred fatal head and neck injuries after an unraced two-year-old he was riding broke down in both front legs whilst breezing on the track, which hosted last weekend’s Breeders’ Cup.

The Daily Racing Form broke the news of the Cuban’s death, and McPeek told the publication: “Obviously everyone is extremely upset about this. Odanis was a fantastic person and one of the hardest-working people you’ll ever meet. It’s a real tragedy.”

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The two-year-old New York Harbor had to be put down and breezing at Churchill Downs was cancelled for the remainder of the morning.