Kentucky Derby Contender Euthanized Less Than 10 Days Before Race After Suffering Workout Injury

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Wild On Ice, a winner of three of five lifetime races, was euthanized on Thursday after suffering an injury to his left hind leg while training at Churchill Downs. The horse was preparing to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

According to the horse's owner, Frank Sumpter, the three-year-old ran five furlongs before being pulled up by the jockey while galloping on the backstretch.

READ: JOCKEY GETS SHOVED FROM HORSE DURING RACE IN TERRIFYING SCENE

After being evaluated on-site at Churchill Downs, the horse was transported to a facility in Lexington where the decision was made to euthanize him.

"Wild On Ice gave us so many great moments," Sumpter said, according to Yahoo. "He'll forever be remembered. It's a sad situation. My heart goes out to the team, trainer Joel Marr and everyone who helped us get to this point.

"These horses give us so many great moments in life and our team puts in so many hours taking care of the horses. He had a fracture in his hind leg and it was determined he couldn't be saved. Wild On Ice had so much heart."

Wild On Ice won the Sunland Derby with 35-1 odds back on March 26. Next month's Kentucky Derby was set to be the first Sumpter had participate in as an owner.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.