WELLINGTON -- University scientists found hemorrhaging during necropsies of 21 polo horses that mysteriously died in Wellington.
But what killed the prized horses continued to elude investigators.
Officials at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville and a state-run animal laboratory on Tuesday finished preliminary examinations of the Lechuza Caracas polo team's horses. Sarah Carey, spokeswoman for the veterinary school, said the university examined 15 horses and the state lab in Kissimmee finished the remaining six necropsies.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are continuing law enforcement investigations into the deaths, but said they had no evidence of criminal wrongdoing Tuesday.
"There is no indication at this time of any criminality, any criminal intent, foul play," said Sheriff's Office Capt. Greg Richter. "There's every indication these horses ingested or were injected with something that caused them to pass away. We certainly want to work it thoroughly, just in case."
Today's scheduled polo game has been delayed because of rain. The U.S. Open tournament will resume 1:30 p.m. Thursday with a memorial service following the 5:30 p.m. game.
The 21 horses started ailing Sunday afternoon as they arrived at the International Polo Club Palm Beach fields in Wellington. Some grew dizzy and collapsed on the field. Fans from the stands rushed to help the horses. Fourteen died Sunday, the rest early Monday.
Investigators, who are awaiting test results, have said the horses likely died from some sort of toxin they came in contact with or a reaction to some drug they ingested. The horses were kept on the Lechuza Caracas property in Wellington since at least December and had been transported to the field in open-air trailers, said Tim O'Connor, spokesman for International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Initial results from necropsies didn't make things much clearer Tuesday.
Carey said university scientists noted bleeding in some of the horses, but in small amounts and not in consistent locations.
"The gross findings did not yield anything that would suggest a specific cause of death," she said.
More results could come as early as tomorrow from testing the horses' water, feed and environment, but officials plan to run a battery of tests on blood and tissue samples. Carey said that veterinarians were prescient enough to get tissue samples when the horses were still alive.
"Tissues from a live animal can reveal things that are not always able to seen in dead tissue," Carey said.
Much of the work to be done will occur at the university's Racing Lab, which tests racehorses for banned substances.
There are no rules dictating how owners care for their horses before a match. But polo officials are hearing from some players and owners calling for pre-game drug testing of horses and riders.
"In any sport it would be beneficial to have drug testing. I think it would be beneficial to polo," said Neil Hirsch, owner of the Player's Club restaurant and the Black Watch polo team. "Hopefully this will turn out to be something very explainable and everybody will learn from it."
Reported by South Florida Sun-Sentinel
