(Edited press release)
Freshman Texas stallion Sand Ridge suffered a fractured cannon bone while being led to his stall Oct. 27. After X-rays revealed the break was inoperable, the 13-year-old stallion was euthanized at Key Ranch near Salado.
"It was one of those freak accidents," said Joe Kerby of Key Ranch. "Sand Ridge had a habit of taking a couple of quick steps when being brought in. He just planted his hoof wrong. For a horse who was so sound on the racetrack, it is really hard to believe this could happen. While his first crop is small, each of the subsequent crops will hopefully leave us with about 75 foals to get to the track. The reports of those offspring in training are all very favorable, and he was really gaining momentum with Texas breeders. He was just the right fit."
Racing primarily in the Midwest for eight seasons, Sand Ridge, by Known Fact, won 17 of 59 career starts and placed 24 times while earning $708,149 for Bill Peters' Thunderhead Farms and trainer Don Von Hemel.
Sand Ridge won five stakes races, including the 2002 Iowa Sprint Handicap and the 2001 and 2002 editions of the Bob Feller Stakes, all at Prairie Meadows.
