Exercise rider dies in training accident at Churchill Downs
Odanis Acuna, a work-rider for prominent US trainer Kenny McPeek, died in a training accident on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.
Acuna, a 42-year-old Cuban who had been working for McPeek for around a decade, incurred fatal head and neck injuries after an unraced two-year-old he was breezing broke down in both front legs, according to the trainer.
Quoted by Daily Racing Form, McPeek said: "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."
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.
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