After four horses died under mysterious circumstances just days before the Kentucky Derby, including two trained by Saffie Joseph Jr, he was suspended indefinitely by Churchill Downs.
One of his horses, Lord Miles, was also scratched from the Derby, according to ESPN.
“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,” Bill Mudd, president and chief operating officer of CDI, said in a statement, per ESPN.
“The safety of our equine and human athletes and integrity of our sport is our highest priority. We feel these measures are our duty and responsibility.”
The suspension prohibits Joseph, as well as any trainer employed by him, to enter horses in races or apply for stall occupancy at Churchill Downs, including the Kentucky Derby, per ESPN.
Parents Pride and Chasing Artie were two of the four horses that were found dead in the last week at the racetrack. The 36-year-old Joseph said he was questioned by investigators from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and that “they found no wrongdoing on our part.”
“I'm the scapegoat,” Joseph Jr. shot back on Thursday, according to WDRB. “They've had more deaths this week, and here is Saffie, this is the problem. Trust me, it's hard enough that our horses have their issues. But the reality of it is that, I've never had horses that die from that issue before. They've had injuries but never from something that was unknown. It's unknown what caused it.”
They are the first horses that have died under Saffie Joseph Jr's care; he came to Florida in 2011 after training in his home country of Barbados.
“It crushes you,” he said, per ESPN. “It knocks your confidence, it makes you doubt everything. There's two ways: You can run away from it and pretend it didn't happen or you could face it and find out what we can do.”
The 149th renewal of the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” will run on Saturday.
