Horse Euthanized At Santa Anita Race Track, 36th Horse Death Since December

ARCADIA (CBSLA) — Bye Bye Beautiful, a 2-year-old filly, was euthanized at Santa Anita Race Track after pulling up on the backstretch of Sunday's third race with a foreleg injury.

"After being pulled up past the half mile pole, Bye Bye Beautiful was immediately evaluated by a team of on-track veterinarians, led by Santa Anita Park veterinarian Dr. Dana Stead, and transported in the equine ambulance," an official Santa Anita Race Track statement said, "Dr. Stead observed that the filly had suffered a right forelimb lateral condylar fracture with medial sesamoid involvement and, because of the severity of the injury, made the decision to humanely euthanize the horse."

Bye Bye Beautiful will now under a necropsy at the University of California Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine, as mandated by the California Horse Racing Board.

Her death brings the total number of horse deaths to 36 since Dec. 26, and 72nd since the beginning of the 2018 season. The 35th horse, a six year old mare named GQ Covergirl, was just euthanized this past Friday.

Bye Bye Beautiful's death prompted PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo to call for the district attorney's office to release findings of its investigation into the horse deaths at Santa Anita and "hold those responsible accountable."

"Santa Anita has taken extraordinary measures to protect horses, but it can't criminally investigate trainers and veterinarians for the deaths of Bye Bye Beautiful and the other horses," Guillermo said in a statement, "Law enforcement must do this... Further delay puts all the Breeders' Cup horses at even greater risk."

The track has been under extreme scrutiny since the rash of deaths at Santa Anita started garnering more media attention this year than in seasons past.

Animal rights advocates, along with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other politicians, have demanded racing stop until an investigation into the exact cause of deaths can be completed.

Racing at Santa Anita was temporarily suspended in February – following the 19th horse death — and again for most of March – following the 21st horse death — so experts could conduct testing on the park's three tracks – the main, training and turf tracks — to try and pinpoint the issue.

On March 31, just two days after racing had resumed, a 5-year-old gelding named Arms Runner had to be euthanized after being injured during a race when he fell following a collision with another horse while both were transitioning from the turf course to dirt.

In mid-March, Santa Anita officials announced a series of new measures to help bolster the safety of horses at the track, including restrictions on certain medications, requiring trainers to get permission in advance before putting a horse through a workout and investing in diagnostic equipment to aid in the early detection of pre-existing conditions.

In April, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced the creation of a task force to investigate the deaths.