La Plata Cancels Card Following Pair of Spills as Storm Clouds Gather Once Again

The truth is in the results, and just hours after major announcements from Lotería, La Plata once again faced an unsettling incident at the track

Just hours after officials at Lotería de la Provincia de Buenos Aires made long-awaited announcements regarding the implementation of online wagering and commingling—a move expected to create new avenues of revenue and hopefully improve purses beyond the state-supported Reparations Fund—reality struck hard once again at La Plata, as Thursday’s card was abandoned midway through the program following a pair of serious incidents on track.

What had been a day of optimism for the province’s racing industry, particularly for La Plata, turned sour quickly, reigniting frustration around the track’s management and safety standards. Racing was called off after the fifth event, with two major accidents leaving jockeys injured and riders refusing to continue without proper medical support on site.

The trouble began in the fourth race, when a three-horse spill occurred approaching the 600-meter mark. San Martín Day (Met Day) and apprentice Jeremías Leyes fell first, with Márcico (Valid Stripes) and Miguel O. Sosa, as well as Fieras Hunter (Global Hunter) and Darío Lencinas, unable to avoid the fallen horse and going down as well.

Leyes was taken to Hospital Gutiérrez, where, according to his family, a CT scan could not be performed due to the lack of equipment. Thankfully, his father, Mario Leyes, later reported that the rider was in stable condition and would undergo further evaluation privately. Sosa and Lencinas, meanwhile, escaped without serious injuries.

One race later, in the Clásico AP Candy, another fall occurred when Goleador Chuck (Chuck Berry) clipped heels with eventual winner Boyero Spring (Greenspring) going into the first turn, sending jockey Jeremías Veliz face-first to the ground. Veliz sustained injuries to his face, including nasal and orbital trauma, and was transported to Hospital San Martín, reportedly regaining consciousness shortly after.

With no advanced-life-support ambulance available on site, the jockey colony understandably refused to continue, prompting the cancellation of the remaining races. Tensions flared among participants and spectators, with some individuals entering the jockeys’ quarters and others confronting officials near the stewards’ office—a scene partially caught on the live broadcast before transmission was abruptly cut.

More than an hour after the initial incident, the track posted a message citing “a conflict on our premises” as the reason for the suspension—an incomplete explanation at best. As of this writing, no official communication had been made regarding the condition of the injured jockeys, leaving families and social media as the main sources of information for concerned fans and industry participants.

“The situation at La Plata is untenable. I don’t even know why I keep coming here,” one leading jockey told Turf Diario, echoing the sentiment of Francisco Leandro, the country’s top rider, who has already opted out of riding at the venue.

So far in 2025, the track has seen more cards canceled than completed—a devastating pattern for an industry already in crisis. Despite the optimism surrounding the recent developments from Lotería, many remain skeptical that any meaningful change can occur under the current leadership.

There is growing consensus that the track’s management and racing office have run their course, and that Lotería must take decisive action. The people of La Plata, and its historically passionate racing community, deserve far better than what they are enduring today.

Thoroughbred racing, due to its complexity, must be overseen by individuals with deep knowledge of the sport and its participants. It is time the state recognizes this, and after years of appointing officials without the necessary expertise, uses its current positive standing with other branches of government to bring about a more professional structure—one that can lift La Plata out of what may be the darkest chapter in its history.