Loose Horse Avoids Injury After Running on Highway

A 2-year-old filly scheduled to debut in the first race at Ellis Park Aug. 21 escaped serious injury after unseating her rider, dashing outside the racetrack, and running loose on a highway before being apprehended, trainer Michael Ann Ewing said.

According to Ewing, Bold and Bossy, a first-time starter owned by Ewing's Bantry Farms, ran through a variety of different areas surrounding Ellis Park for approximately 30 minutes.

This occurred after jockey Miguel Mena came off the filly when she was fractious in the post parade. Mena was uninjured, Ewing said, and rode in other races Saturday.

Bold and Bossy was scratched from the first race, a maiden $30,000 claimer that was otherwise conducted without incident.

Video of Bold and Bossy running down the highway was captured on cell phone video by at least one passerby and uploaded to social media.

Just in: Ellis Park officials tell Eyewitness News a race horse bucked its rider and escaped the track before the first race this afternoon. It traveled along US-41 before the owner managed to rescue it at the Evansville Water Department. pic.twitter.com/YWbaklhDaO

— Blake Sandlin (@BlakeSandlin) August 21, 2021

"Oh my god, we're so grateful that she's alive, that she didn't get hit by a car, that somebody didn't hit her and hurt themselves. It was just one of those freaky, crazy things," she said. "Believe it or not, she lost some shoes, and she grabbed a quarter badly. But it doesn't appear that she needs stitches. Nothing is broken."

Ewing said horsemen and other concerned individuals followed the filly in an attempt to bring her to safety. According to Ellis Park, fellow trainers Wes Hawley and Jack Hancock were among those that caught her.

Speaking via telephone from her base near Lexington, Ewing noted at 3 p.m. CT Saturday that Bold and Bossy was in an Ellis Park stall, receiving fluids. She said her onsite assistant and Ellis Park veterinarian reported the filly was "really dehydrated and severely tied up."

Ewing said Bold and Bossy would return to her stable at The Thoroughbred Center after being given time to recuperate at Ellis Park. She said the filly would continue to undergo veterinary examination and would be given adequate time to mentally and physically recover from Saturday's incident.