In the 6th at Los Alamitos Saturday, Free Ricky was said (Equibase) to have taken a “bad step” – “vanned off.” Having done this for six years, I have a pretty good feel for the various styles of the various chartwriters. At Los Alamitos, “injured, vanned off” and “bad steps, vanned off” are, as a rule, ominous. So, I reached out to the CHRB and can now confirm that Free Ricky is indeed dead – euthanized for undisclosed injuries.

Los Alamitos’ 2019 Dead (14, and counting):

unidentified, Jan 5, training – “catastrophic right front fetlock breakdown”
Adroit, Jan 6, racing – “catastrophic injury…euthanized on track”
unidentified, Feb 19, training – “catastrophic right front fetlock breakdown”
Rosiescruella, Feb 24, racing – “vanned off, euthanized”
unidentified (could be Yes I’m Ready), Mar 15-Mar 17, racing
unidentified, Apr 5-Apr 7, racing or training
unidentified (good chance Bos Dream), Apr 26-Apr 28, racing
unidentified, Apr 26-Apr 28, racing or training
unidentified, May 14-May 19, racing or training
unidentified, Jul 8-Jul 14, stall
Cuervo Foose, Jul 20, racing – “shoulder fracture”
Always Checking, Aug 17, racing – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Da One Two Special, Sep 1, racing – “injured, vanned off, euthanized”
Free Ricky, Sep 7, racing – “took a bad step, vanned off, euthanized”