An "abnormal crash" on the famous Del Mar circuit in California, involving two horses colliding one after the other after one of them turned around, left the two steeds dead and one jockey injured Thursday.
"There was no outside influence to make these horses do what they did," said Joe Harper, director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
Geovanni Franco and Carson Valley and his runner Assael Espinoza were right behind them when the collision happened Thursday during a training session, according to Harper.
He told Daily Racing Form that the couple was training with another of his horses when Charge A Bunch suddenly turned and headed straight for Carson Valley.
"Both suffered from cervical fractures and died on the circuit," said Dr. Rick Arthur, Equine Medical Director at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and a full-time member of the California Horse Racing Board.
He and other officials said they could do nothing to prevent such incidents.
