Vino Rosso won Saturday’s $6 million Classic by 4¼ lengths at the Breeders’ Cup, where a long shot horse was eased up in the stretch with a leg injury.
Mongolian Groom, a 15-1 shot, was part of the early pace in the 1¼-mile race that capped the two-day world championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. But jockey Abel Cedillo appeared to pull up the 4-year-old gelding near the eighth-pole as the rest of the field charged toward the finish line.
Santa Anita has been the site of 36 horse deaths since December.
A green screen was rushed onto the track to block the view of Mongolian Groom, who was loaded onto a horse ambulance and taken away. An on-call veterinarian said he suffered a left hind leg injury, but there were no further details.
It was the only injury in the 14 Cup races.
Vino Rosso went off at 9-2 odds for trainer Todd Pletcher, who won his first Classic.
McKinzie, the 5-2 favorite, finished second for trainer Bob Baffert.