by Emily Gaskin, for Hoosier Park

Anderson, IN — An incident during a regularly scheduled training session at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Tuesday (June 7) resulted in the drowning fatality of a Standardbred racehorse.

After a preliminary review, it is believed that Just Dance With Me, a 3-year-old pacing filly driven by Brett Wilfong and owned by the Wilfong family, veered left off the racetrack at 11:45 a.m. as a result of a broken bit and loss of control. The filly went through the inner racetrack fence, and into the infield pond. The driver was unharmed and did not require additional medical care.

“Our condolences go out to the Wilfong family for their loss,” said Rick Moore, Hoosier Park’s vice president and general manger of racing. “In the sport of horse racing, racehorses are very much part of the family and are cared for as such.”

The local Anderson Fire Department responded to the incident. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has been notified.

Moore added, “This unfortunate event is the first of its kind in the more than 20 years of racing at Hoosier Park and we will conduct a full investigation of the incident. Horse racing, much like any other racing sport, has its inherent risks that we must continue to keep in mind.”