DEL MAR, Calif. (KGTV) — Two more horses died this past week at the Del Mar Racetrack.
They are the third and fourth horses to die at the track during the summer racing season, and they come as protests continue outside the front gates.
As fans filed into the track Saturday, they were greeted by both protesters and counterprotesters.
"Five horses were killed in three weeks for your entertainment," one yelled to the crowd.
The group protesting claims five horses have died at the track this year, but the California Horse Racing Board says there have been four deaths, and not all of those have been categorized as racing deaths.
Still, Ellen Ericksen, an activist who says she's been protesting in Del Mar for twenty years, says she isn't going anywhere.
"I will continue to be out here every weekend for the horses," Ericksen says. "When the racetracks are shut down, we will stop."
Her point is probably heard clearer right now than it has been recently. While four horses died at the track during the summer season in 2023, none were reported during the summer season in 2022.
"Del Mar likes to say this is a safe racetrack. One dead horse makes this an unsafe racetrack," Ericksen exclaims.
Her points are met with counter-protestors, though.
"We love our horses," Oscar De la Torre said. He spoke to ABC 10News on behalf of the backstretch workers who take care of horses at the track.
He's among those frustrated with Ericksen's group, especially after safety enhancements at the track over the last several years.
"We care about the workers that would lose their jobs if horse racing was prohibited," De la Torre says, adding that he thinks the Del Mar track is the wrong spot for the protest.
According to the California Horse Racing Board, seven horses died at Del Mar last year, but none of them happened during the summer racing season.
"We're very different, you know, then then the rest," De la Torre said.
But racehorse deaths in California have gone declined every year since 2016, data from the horse racing board shows. In 2022, 64 racehorses died, down from 209 in 2016.
For Ericksen, it's not just about the track at Del Mar but all racetracks. She says she'll keep returning to Del Mar until that number hits zero.
"Horses are dying at this racetrack racing and in training. This is not a safe racetrack," she says.
ABC 10News reached out to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for comment but did not hear back.
The summer racing season lasts until Sept. 10.
