Horse's death at Vancouver's The Cup under investigation, witness 'shocked' and 'horrified'

A photo shows a horse racing in the 2022 Vancouver Deighton Cup at the Hastings Racecourse. The death of a horse named Lent Me Twenty at the 2023 event is under investigation.

Vancouver’s version of the Kentucky Derby is being marked by tragedy after one horse died during the event over the weekend.

A three-year-old horse named Lent Me Twenty died in the paddock at Hastings Racecourse on Saturday, right before it was set to compete at The Cup.

Ryan McCartney, the director of operations at the Hastings Racecourse and Casino, told CTV News on Monday that the death is under investigation.

“Any incident such as the one in question is rare at Hastings Racecourse, and our thoughts are with the owners of the horse. Our first priority is the health and safety of our athletes, both equine and human, and we will continue to work with and support industry agencies and regulators to determine the cause of this unfortunate outcome,” wrote McCartney in an email.

David Milburn, president of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of BC, described the death as a “very rare, freak occurrence.”

He says the horse died before the rider mounted it in the paddock, which is where event attendees can view the animals before race time.

“Based on what I’ve learned, the horse reared up and went over backwards and struck its head on the ground,” Milburn said, adding that the walkway is a padded area.

He believes the horse died instantly.

“Horses rear up and will go backwards sometimes, whether it’s in the paddock, show ring or on a trail. It’s so, so rare for a horse to hit its head and die,” Milburn told CTV News.

An autopsy will be performed on the horse at a government lab in Abbotsford to determine the cause of death, says Milburn.

Darren Hill, 50, attended The Cup with his girlfriend Saturday and witnessed the horse fall to the ground.

He says he was struggling to decide what horse to bet on, which is why he walked over to the paddock area. Hill estimates about 20 or 30 people witnessed the death, though thousands of attendees were in the stands or milling around the racecourse at the time.

“It just walked normal in front of me with its trainer and then as it passed me, it just dropped sideways. All four legs kicked up in the air, shaking and twitching and stuff. Then it just lay dead and that was the end of it,” Hill recalls.

He says staff immediately ran over to cover the horse with a blanket and a tractor pulled the body out of sight within five minutes of the fatal fall.

“The show must go on sort of thing. They scratched the name from the race sheet and gave everyone refunds who bet on that horse,” says Hill.

Lent Me Twenty was listed as horse number four and was supposed to compete in race three of eight that day.

Hill says he bet on horse number four for every subsequent race following the death.

Another witness wrote on social media Sunday that she was “shocked, horrified and confused.”

“We promptly left afterwards but this is the reality and it reminded me why I won’t be going back,” wrote Emily Fortune Super on Twitter. “The race ran only 10 minutes behind schedule. This is abhorrent and disgusting.”