LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The trainer of two horses that collapsed and died in separate race incidents on the first two days of Churchill Downs spring meet says he's searching for answers.

Saffie Joseph Jr. had one entry scheduled to run on Wednesday's "Champions Day" Derby Week race card at Churchill Downs, but his 3-year-old filly Accomplished Girl has been scratched from the 10th race. The 36-year-old native of Barbados also trains Lord Miles, who is entered to become his third Kentucky Derby starter on Saturday.

In the 8th race on Opening Night last Saturday, Joseph had Parents Pride, a 4-year-old filly, collapse and die after being pulled up in the upper stretch. Again on Tuesday, Joseph's Chasing Artie was bumped from the inside, then from the outside, then was outrun. After the race, the 3-time stakes winner with 12 career starts was vanned off and later died.

Both horses were owned by Kenneth Ramsey. Necropsies will be performed but results typically take several weeks. Joseph said more testing of horses in his barn is ongoing.

"This is something that doesn't happen," Joseph said on Wednesday morning at his Churchill Downs barn. "I'm shattered, basically, because I know it can't happen. The odds of it happening twice is in the trillions. I run almost 4,000 horses and it's never happened. It doesn't make sense."

On March 3 of this year, Joseph was suspended for 15 days by the Pennsylvania State Horseracing Commission and was issued a $500 fine for a positive test for Gabapentin in one of his fillies, Artie's Princess, after her win in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes on Sept. 19 of last year. She was disqualified from the victory. Joseph and Ramsey have both appealed the suspension and disqualification, claiming contamination in the testing process.

Joseph, who described himself as "very uneasy right now," said he had no answers for why the two horses at Churchill died following races.

"When you don't know something, that's when it worries you the most," he said. "And we don't have a reason. We can't find a reason. . . . We pulled all the blood work last night and all the bloods came back good. Nothing's showing. We're sending all the tests. We're testing everything, hay, feed, supplements, just to see if there was, like, anything on our part. . . . A lot of questions run through your head, but if you think too much, you can drive yourself insane."

Joseph's haven't been the only equine fatalities at Churchill in the past week. Last Thursday, Kentucky Derby qualifier Wild on Ice was pulled up with an injury during his gallop out from a 5-furlong workout, and was euthanized after being transported to an equine hospital in Lexington.

On Tuesday, Chasing Briana, a D. Wayne Lukas filly, got into traffic in the upper stretch during an allowance race on the turf course and took a spill, unseating rider Luis Saez (who also rode Chasing Artie). The filly was euthanized after sustaining serious injuries.

While the fatalities come as the result of various causes, they also pose a concern coming in such proximity, and during the days preceding the nation's most famous horse race at its most famous venue. Churchill Downs issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

"While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable," the statement reads, in part. "We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed. We feel a tremendous responsibility to our fans, the participants in our sport and the entire industry to be a leader in safety and continue to make significant investments to eliminate risk to our athletes. We have full confidence in our racing surfaces and have been assured by our riders and horsemen that they do as well."

The track said it had ordered full necropsies of the deceased horses, confirming that Joseph's horses died suddenly of unknown causes while the other two died as the result of "musculoskeletal injuries from which they could not recover." 

Animal Wellness Action, a Washington, D.C.-based organization advocating for laws forbidding animal cruelty, called on the track to remain vigilant.

"Multiple horse deaths at Churchill Downs in the week preceding the running of the Kentucky Derby should be distressing to anyone interested in the well-being of horses and the reputation of the horse-racing industry," said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. "The dead horses were juveniles, and they should not be dying at this clip. We remain especially concerned about breeding practices that value speed over bodily integrity and about track surfaces that may be putting the animals and the jockeys at risk of life and limb. The work of Churchill Downs on the federal anti-doping legislation was very noteworthy and positive, but very significant horse wellness issues remain an ongoing concern. It should be a top priority for Churchill Downs and all other tracks to make horse welfare their top priority."

Joseph said he is braced for criticism, but insists he did nothing negligent.

"That's life in today's world," he said. "When you're successful people are going to try to knock you and speculate and say all kinds of things. That's the hurtful part. So here you are. You've got to deal with that. . . . We're in a position right now that is not a nice position to be in. We don't have the answer. And that's what -- that's what we need to get the answer. . . . We've had them get hurt. That's different. . . . I've never had a horse like this, of something internally in race? No. Basically it's mind-boggling. I mean, in a race, twice in three days and the first two runners, like, I mean, the same owner? It's mind-boggling."

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