Identical Mishap Kills Two Horses in Belmont Park Race

Two of the five horses who started the seventh race Sunday at Belmont Park died on the track after suffering virtually identical injuries.

Hobeau Farm’s Smart Little Boy and Allen E. Paulson’s Scherbo broke their right ankles and had to be destroyed where they fell. Their jockeys, Jean-Luc Samyn and Julie Krone, escaped injury.

Smart Little Boy appeared on his way to victory when he shattered his right ankle and lurched outward, staggering a few yards, and fell.

Scherbo, who took over the lead, appeared to falter nearing the wire where he was overtaken by the race’s eventual winner, Rum’n Cope. While pulling up after the finish, Scherbo took a bad step, also breaking his right ankle and tumbling to the track.