Two horses die during training at Los Alamitos

Los Alamitos had its first two equine fatalities of the new racing season when two thoroughbred horses died during training on Sunday. Don’t Stop Lookin, a 4-year-old filly, was euthanized after suffering an injury during morning training. Noor Khan, a 5-year-old mare, did not break down but instead died of what is classified as sudden death, which is usually associated with a cardiac event.

Necropsies will be performed on both horses. Los Alamitos is the only Southern California track that does not make an announcement about its fatalities. These were made public on the California Horse Racing Board website, which is not updated on weekends and holidays.

Don’t Stop Lookin last raced on Jan. 1, finishing fourth in a claiming race at Santa Anita. She had 17 lifetime starts, winning twice with three second and one third-place finish. She earned $45,163 in purses, starting her career with Art and Steve Sherman before moving to the barn of Robert Bean after six races. She was originally bought by Ed Allred, owner of Los Alamitos, and Jack Liebau, a vice president at the track, before being sold to Bean.

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Also, veteran campaigner Bowies Hero was euthanized on Monday from complications of laminitis.

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Noor Khan was lightly raced with only five starts in the last two years. She last raced Aug. 22 at Del Mar, finishing fifth in an allowance/optional claiming race. She had earned $41,120 with one win and two third-place finishes. She was owned and bred by Nick Alexander, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Phil D’Amato was her trainer.

Los Alamitos will go before the CHRB in a teleconference on Thursday to try to get a full year’s license. It applied for one in December, but the board granted one for only six months because of concerns about fatalities at the track. There were 29 racing or training deaths at Los Alamitos last racing year, which begins at the end of December.