Rough Sailing Put Down After Fall in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Rough Sailing, running in the first race of the second day of the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs, fell on the first turn, suffered a fractured right humerus in his upper right front leg and had to be put down.

"It's not a fracture that's repairable in an adult horse,'' said on-site veterinarian C. Wayne McIlwraith, about an hour after the end of the Juvenile Turf Saturday. He said he did not know if the fatal injury occurred when Rough Sailing fell or after he regained his footing.

The 2-year-old, running in his fourth career race, apparently hit a soft spot on the first turn of the turf course, went down on his left side and threw jockey Rosie Napravnik. Rough Sailing jumped back up and ran to the midway point of the backstretch before falling again. Napravnik left the track under her own power.

The initial report on Rough Sailing's injury did not seem catastrophic. He was taken back to his barn after the on-track examination. The decision to euthanize him came after a later examination there, McIlwraith said.

"When I went into the turn, I wasn't bumped or anything like that,'' Napravnik said soon after the race, before the announcement of the severity of Rough Sailing's injury was made. "The turf was a little bit soft and the turns were tight, so his footing just slipped out beneath him. I feel all right, and he got up and galloped away, so hopefully he's OK.''