Harness racing horse drowns in Ohio pond immediately after event

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A horse drowned Monday night after running into a pond at MGM Northfield Park after a race, the CEO of the U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association confirmed.

The horse, named Alfred Hanover, was trained by Ron Burke, who was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame last month, according to HarnessLink. Freddie Hudson, of the U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association, confirmed the horse’s death.

Burke is considered one of the industry’s top trainers.

“We are deeply saddened by racehorse Alfred Hanover’s passing and extend our condolences to his owner, trainer and all involved,” Matt Buckley, general manager of MGM Northfield Park, said in a statement released Tuesday.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Burke for comment on the incident.

Marty Irby, the executive director of Animal Wellness Action, released a statement following the horse’s death.

“We are saddened to see yet another racehorse death in the world of harness racing and call on the U.S. Trotting Association and its members to join in supporting the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act that took effect last week by opting into the anti-doping program and oversight under the new national standards,” Irby said in the statement.

“As the body count continues to climb, these rampant deaths continue to turn the betting public away from the horseracing industry. Where else would we tolerate any athlete drowning during a sporting event without a serious investigation? The authorities should investigate this incident.”

Hudson said this isn’t the first time this has happened. He said a horse drowned about a year ago and another got in the pond at an unknown time, but was rescued.

On Monday, Alfred Hanover was finishing the second race when the incident happened, Hudson said. The horse had placed second, according to trackinfo.com.

“While they were unhooking the (2-year-old) horse from the race bike, the horse got loose and then took off and ran into the pond with all of his equipment on and they couldn’t get to the horse, and the horse drowned,” he said.

Racing officials canceled the rest of the races on the program Monday night, HarnessLink reports. The Buckeye Stallion Series races from Monday night’s program will be contested at 4 p.m. Wednesday, HarnessLink reports.

“They should do away with having ponds in the middle of race tracks,” Hudson said. “Or put fences around it so it can be prevented.”

MGM Northfield Park said in a statement Tuesday that is planning to build a fence around the pond and it should be completed next week. The track says it is “working directly with the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association and Ohio Racing on this matter.”

Northfield police did not have a report of the incident.

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