Video: Churchill Downs Hid Kentucky Derby-Week Horse Death, PETA Demands Transparency

For Immediate Release:
May 14, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A young Thoroughbred suffered a catastrophic leg injury at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week—and died two days later—but Churchill Downs Inc. never publicly disclosed the death, continuing the track’s disturbing pattern of secrecy around on‑track fatalities. In a letter sent this morning, PETA called on Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen to institute a policy of immediate and complete disclosure of all serious injuries and deaths.

Three‑year‑old colt Vino Subito was ambulanced off during Race 7 on April 28 at Churchill Downs. PETA investigators were on-site and captured exclusive video footage showing emergency veterinarians, outriders, and track personnel rushing onto the track to examine the horse’s injured leg before he was loaded into an ambulance and taken away.

PETA publicly called for information on the horse’s condition, but Churchill Downs made no public announcement that Vino Subito was euthanized two days later, on April 30.

This silence echoes a troubling pattern. Last year, publicly available information indicated that five horses had died at Churchill Downs or its training track, but PETA later documented that the actual number was significantly higher—13 deaths as of August. Nineteen fatalities were confirmed by the end of 2025.

“Deception is not a business plan, but Churchill Downs appears to have decided that transparency would be too damaging to its brand ahead of the most lucrative week in racing,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “Had the public known that Vino Subito—just 3 years old—was catastrophically injured during Kentucky Derby week and euthanized days later, alarm bells would have been ringing even louder.”

Just days earlier, graded-stakes winning horse Gosger—who finished second in the 2025 Preakness Stakes—suffered a career‑ending injury at Churchill Downs, putting the industry on heightened alert about breakdowns and injuries at the track.

Churchill Downs is already one of the most scrutinized tracks in the country, having been forced to suspend racing entirely in 2023 following a dozen deaths, and now that Churchill Downs Inc. has acquired the intellectual property rights to the Preakness Stakes, PETA is also demanding assurances that this culture of secrecy will not be exported to Maryland next year.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.