Beloved Tyler's Tribe, Another Horse Dead in a Two Day Period at Oaklawn

A beloved race horse has died.

The horse racing community was in shock over the tragic death of Tyler's Tribe just two days before the Kentucky Derby.  His death occurred following a workout Wednesday with news only breaking Thursday evening.

There is also a great deal of outrage.  Tyler's Tribe was permitted to race despite repeated bleeding incidents.

Tyler's Tribe made plenty of noise back in 2022 when he entered the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland undefeated in five starts, but the colt would go on to suffer from an instance of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in that race and finished off the board.

The track issued a press release in which it said that trainer Tim Martin's entries for the final week of racing at Oaklawn were being scratched by the stewards.

“In the interest of all parties, Oaklawn must take these actions to properly investigate the matter,” the statement read.

Tyler's Tribe was named after co-owner Tom Lepic's grandson, Tyler Juhl of Iowa City, Iowa, who was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common type of cancer found in children.

Lepic said Thursday that Tyler's Tribe did not bleed in the workout, but the cause of death remained a mystery.

“All I know is that he had just finished his workout and he died on the track,” Lepic said. “(Co-owner and trainer) Tim (Martin) said he had worked great and had a good gallop out. Tim said he was shocked by what happened. All of us, we are completely devastated. This horse meant so much to us.

“There are people who are going to say we never should have run him again. Tim said he did whatever the vets told him to do. We followed every guideline and even gave him a year off. We were told that he was fine and that he wouldn't bleed again. We loved this horse and never would have done anything to hurt him.”

Lepic is hoping that a necropsy will provide some answers.

“We don't know what the cause of death was and have asked for a necropsy,” Lepic said. “We are very eager to find out.”

On Thursday, another of Martin's horses, Collins, had to be put down following a five furlongs working at Oaklawn. 

Martin had entered eight horses over the next three days at Oaklawn Park.

"The health and welfare of our equine and human athletes are taken very seriously at Oaklawn," the track's statement reads. "While management investigates the unfortunate fatalities of Tyler’s Tribe and Collins, Trainer Tim Martin’s entries during the last weekend of racing have been scratched by the Stewards. In the interest of all parties, Oaklawn must take these actions to properly investigate this matter."