Kentucky regulatory veterinarians say there is no explanation for a spike in the number of equine fatalities during the recently concluded racing meet at Ellis Park in Henderson.

According to figures distributed by the veterinary staff during the Sept. 23 Kentucky Horse Racing Commission meeting, there were eight racing fatalities and one fatality during training hours during the 29-day meet that began in early July and ran through Labor Day. During the same period in 2012, there were two fatalities at Ellis Park.

Mary Scollay, DVM, equine medical director for the state, and William Farmer, DVM, chief veterinarian, said all of the fatalities, except one, were due to physical breakdowns; one was cardiovascular-related.

Farmer said the medical staff has studied the necropsies and past histories of the horses involved in the fatalities, and there is no definite commonality with the incidents