The discovery of a man’s body Sunday in the stable area of Churchill Downs was being investigated as a homicide, but there is no connection to the race track or the Kentucky Derby, police said. Â Read more after the jump.
“At this point we don’t have anything pointing to the fact that this had any association with Churchill Downs or the Derby itself,” said Alicia Smiley, spokewoman for Louisville Metro Police.
Smiley said the death is being investigated as a homicide and there were no obvious signs of a struggle. She did not have any information on the identification or age of the man.
Smiley said the coroner will conduct an autopsy, expected to be completed Monday, and an identification will be released at that time, pending notification of next of kin.
Churchill Downs security called police at 4:50 a.m. ET after the body was found in a barn occupied by Louisville trainer Angel Montano Sr., Smiley said.
Montano did not have a horse in Saturday’s derby, which saw a record attendance of more than 165,000.
Although Montano’s barn is just four away — about 150 yards — from where this year’s derby winner I’ll Have Another is kept, there was little talk of the incident in the stable area. Instead, I’ll Have Another’s trainers and owners were participating in the usual post-Derby media interviews and speculation about the next race in racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
A telephone call, text and Twitter message left for Montano were not immediately returned.
The body was removed from the barn at 9:50 a.m., and police were seen packing about a dozen large paper bags into the back of a crime scene unit van.
Abour a week after the Kentucky Derby last year, jockey Michael Baze’s body was found in a vehicle near the stables at the famed Louisville track. His death was ruled an accidental overdose.
