(Edited report from NYRA)
City On Line, a 4-year-old colt trained H. Allen Jerkens and owned by Rhapsody Farm and Harry L. Landry, was euthanized May 20 after a freak accident in the paddock at Belmont Park.
In the post parade before the fifth race, the colt broke away from his lead pony, unseated jockey Jose Lezcano, and ran loose down the tunnel leading to the paddock. He finally ran into a bronze statue of Secretariat located at the center of the paddock.
Dr. Anthony Verderosa, chief examining veterinarian for the New York Racing Association, sedated the horse and treated him for trauma in the paddock. In the course of his treatment and examination, Verderosa diagnosed that the colt had irreparably fractured his left femur, a large bone in the hind leg. The injury required that City On Line be immediately euthanized.
Jockey Jose Lezcano was not injured during the incident and no other injuries were reported.