13 Horse Deaths This Year at Churchill Downs Prompt Shareholder PETA to Demand Transparency
PETA uncovered a deadly secret that Churchill Downs Incorporated has apparently failed to disclose to its shareholders. So before the track’s September 11 opening day, PETA alerted the company’s top institutional shareholders that more horses have died than have been reported.
Churchill Downs May Be One of the Deadliest Horse Racing Tracks in the Country
Public records show that seven horses have died racing at Churchill Downs this year. Stewards’ reports posted online list only five deaths in 2025, and two more were reported by the media, including Valley of Fire, who fractured both front legs while training at Churchill Downs. But insiders tell PETA that 13 horses have died racing or training at the iconic track or on its training track.
Warning to Shareholders: People Are Paying Attention to Horse Deaths
PETA, which owns a small share in Churchill Downs Inc. to raise issues about horses directly with shareholders and the board, also notes that shareholder prices dropped in 2023 during the months after 12 horses died in the weeks around the Kentucky Derby that year. As one financial analyst wrote, “[I]nvestors may want to be cautious of its stock until the smoke clears surrounding health and safety concerns for horses at its venue.”
Churchill Downs must come clean and report all fatalities. Further, it must explain why its safety measures are not stopping the bloodbath and why it hasn’t embraced all the standards and regulations set and implemented in California, which have lowered the number of deaths in recent years. Not even one death is ever acceptable, but it’s disgraceful that the home of the world’s most famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby, and one of the wealthiest racing companies in America can’t keep its involuntary ‘athletes’ alive.
Among the three leading racing states—Kentucky, New York, and California—only Kentucky does not publicly disclose racing and training deaths.
How You Can Help Horses
Many horse deaths could have been prevented if Churchill Downs had followed PETA’s advice, such as giving injured or sore horses enough time to recover before training or racing.
