Churchill Downs Investigating 'Spike' of Horse Deaths After 12 Fatalities in May

Following the death of two more horses at Churchill Downs this weekend, bringing the total to 12 over the past month, the race track is investigating the recent spike, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Kimberley Dream, a mare, was euthanized after rupturing the distal sesamodean ligament in her right front leg Saturday. Lost in Limbo suffered a similar injury Friday and had to be put down as well.

Both horses were seven-years-old and had at least 35 starts apiece.

The track released a statement saying that both injuries were "inoperable and unrecoverable." The statement also said that Churchill Downs is committed to getting to the core of the problem in order to preserve the safety and future of the sport and its race track.

"We do not accept this as suitable or tolerable and share the frustrations of the public, and in some cases, the questions to which we do not yet have answers," the statement said. "We have been rigorously working since the opening of the meet to understand what has led to this spike and have yet to find a conclusive discernable pattern as we await the findings of ongoing investigations into those injuries and fatalities."

As part of its investigation, Churchill Downs brought in a surface expert to perform tests on the tracks and there were no notable findings. The results weren't any different from previous examinations of the track.

The Jockey Club is also in the process of examining each horse to see if there is any correlation that wasn't seen before.

Seven deaths in the lead up to the Kentucky Derby earlier this month cast a big shadow over the celebratory proceedings and has put the sport of horse racing under a bigger microscope than ever before.