NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Arcadius collapsed and died as he was being cooled down after winning the $150,000 Iroquois Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park on Saturday.
Veterinarians wrapped up the necropsy report Saturday night, and doctors confirm the cause of death in "Arcadius" was an aneurysm in one of the horse's pulmonary arteries.
One of the six attending veterinarians at Saturday's event described in detail what happened.
"After the seventh race, the horse that won the race was trotting back up to the Winner's Circle. He was having his picture taken, the jockey dis-mounted, took his tack off; the horse walked calmly over to the cooling station where we do all the horses. The cooling station's where we apply water and ice to help cool the horse down. It's standard protocol. In the cooling station, the horse went down," said Dr. Monty McInturff, TN Equine Hospital. "And when he went down our vet team was contacted. We got to the scene very quickly. And when we arrived, the horse had very weak blood pressure. We administered first aid."
Arcadius was 8-years-old, which is considered an "older" horse. He was an accomplished thorough-bred, who always gave 150-percent according to one of the trainers NewsChannel 5 spoke with Saturday night at the Steeplechase grounds.
Veterinarians at the State level confirm Arcadius's cause of death an aneurysm in a pulmonary artery.
Arcadius was owned by Jonathan Sheppard, from West Grove, Pennsylvania, who's listed among the leading Steeple-Chase trainers.
Dr McInturff said, in his 20-years of being around race-horses, he's almost never seen a fatal incident at the conclusion of a race; he says it's much more common during a race or event.
