Necropsy Report On Meadowlands Equine Fatality

Thursday, August 24, 2023

On July 14 at The Meadowlands, the horse Classic Landing collapsed soon after the finish and died within moments. There was no catastrophic breakdown, his fatality was the result of an internal event.

A necropsy was performed, as is policy at The Meadowlands, and the results were recently filed with the New Jersey Racing Commission. A copy was requested by The Meadowlands so those results might be made available.

The summary of the necropsy reported by the New Jersey Animal Health Diagnostic Lab reads as follows:

“The cause of sudden collapse and death in this horse was hypovolemic shock and hypoxemia secondary to hemorrhage from rupture of the left pulmonary artery. The subcutaneous and skeletal muscle hemorrhages are consistent with trauma related to perimortem collapse.”

Classic Landing was a trotter, competing in the 2-year-old New Jersey Sires Stakes program for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable, Knox Services, Larry Kerr, J&T Silva-Purnell & Libby. He had won his only previous start, a Kindergarten Series leg, in 1:54.4.