teuflesberg

[Riot]

Could be (yes, two sesamoid bones each ankle). The story on the WLEX website is from AP. Dr. Alan Ruggles is a surgeon at Rood and Riddle. From the TV news, I got the impression he was present at the track today (maybe the AAEP vet present at big event days to deal with media?), due to his detailed description of Dream of Angels. What a tragically ironic name for that poor horse. Rest in peace.

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(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.): It was a rough start to the first Saturday of Keeneland's Fall Meet. Two horses had to be euthanized and a third pulled up short with an ankle fracture.

Teuflesberg, the 17th-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, pulled up short in the Grade 3 Phoenix Handicap with fractures to both feet. He was expected to have surgery early next week to fuse bones in his ankles, said veterinarian Alan Ruggles.

The ugliest injury of the day didn't happen on the track but in the paddock as Dream of Angels was being saddled for the Phoenix. The horse was euthanized because of severe head trauma, severe bleeding and cranial and spinal cord problems. "It doesn't take a lot of force when you're a heavy animal to be injured severely," Ruggles said. "Around Keeneland, there's grass and there's rubber bricks to protect the horses. But it's like you and I, you just hit yourself in a certain way and just the force at a certain angle can cause dramatic damage."

Gold Train also was euthanized after pulling up lame with a fractured right foot just past the quarter-pole in the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity.

Tracks across the country have been looking into synthetic surfaces, in part to prevent catastrophic breakdowns, such as the one that doomed Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro in the 2006 Preakness. Keeneland was among the first to install Polytrack, and track officials said injuries were down last year.