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Subscribe to RSSThe discovery of a man's body in the stable area of Churchill Downs was being investigated as a homicide. Msnbc's Alex Witt reports.
Updated at 11:53 p.m. ET: LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Foul play is suspected in the death of a man whose body was found in a barn behind Churchill Downs just hours after the Kentucky Derby was run at the track.
Police have ruled the death a homicide, Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said Sunday.
The victim was identified Sunday as 48-year-old Adan Fabian Perez, a Guatemala native, according to Jo-Ann Farmer, chief deputy coroner for Jefferson County.
Farmer said he was identified by his 19-year-old son, who also works at the track.
"At this point we don't have anything pointing to the fact that this had any association with Churchill Downs or the Derby itself," Smiley said.
"He did sustain injuries that lead us to believe he was involved in some type of altercation," Smiley added.
"Our investigation is ongoing as to why he would have specifically been at this location."
Authorities received a call shortly before 5 a.m. on Sunday reporting a body found in a barn not far from where I'll Have Another, the horse that won Saturday's race, was stabled.
There were no obvious signs of a struggle. Smiley said evidence at the scene led investigators to believe the death was a homicide. She did not elaborate.
She said Sunday evening that police "still do not have suspect information at this point."
An autopsy was planned for Monday to determine the cause of death.
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.
Montano's barn is just four away — about 150 yards — from where I'll Have Another is kept.
A telephone call, text and Twitter message left by The Associated Press for Montano were not immediately returned.
Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com
On Saturday, I'll Have Another, ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez, won the 138th running of the tradition-rich Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a stunning finish before a record crowd of more than 165,000 people.
About 200 people live at Churchill Downs at any given time — either in dormitories on the edge of the property or in small apartments above some of the barns themselves.
About 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.
The Associated Press and NBC News' Michelle Franzen contributed to this story.
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A racetrack? It's a Dick Francis mystery.
Sounds like something out of Law and Order C.I.
Was it Zimmerman? to Inside Questions, lighten up, it's only a blog and this country is so screwed up ya gotta let off a little bit o steam.
If you've ever hung around the back barn at any major horse racing track you would know that a lot of the back barn female workers dress and act as males. Most are not too feminine like.
Sounds like someone bet a little more than they could afford
Gives a whole new meaning to the 1940's Marx Brothers film "A day at the races".. Either he's dead or my watch has stopped...
What does the racing commission have to say about such foul play at the track?
Cause of death "Horsing Around"
Mystery at Churchill Downs!!!
Enquiring minds, who did it, how did they pull it off, and what was the motive???
I want to read the Agatha Christie version.
This is a easy one. This is the Dude that sold the drugs to the Jockey that died of a over-dose. This was a revenge killing of a drug dealer. Case is closed, no one arrested. Justice been served.
If you want to get to the shorts of it, check the jockeys. Skip the boxers; they're not here.
I think it's definitely a case of horseplay.
So George Zimmerman made an appearance at the Kentucky Derby after all.. This guy just don't give a F.
They probably will never solve the case but they know churchill downs had nothing to do with it.Who told them that the dead guy.
I wonder if the horses are talking or keeping quiet for fear of retaliation for snitching.
They didn't want to end up as part of any deal someone couldn't refuse.
two words.
white.
people.
? Made the world?Took a savage society and civilized it? Took inventions from much older cultures and created new technologies with them?Made good on equality,freedom and peace?
"Hiyo Silver, Away"!
To identify the sex of the victim check two things; first look at the left hand ring finger to see if there is a wedding ring. If there is a wedding ring there, then remove the pants from the victim. If they have a big pair of balls, it's definitely a woman.
I can't imagine getting this excited for 2 minute race.
Did they find a cell phone: Caller: Honey Honey...so did we win? You said it was a sure thing to bet the house...hello? Hello?
It was a Secret Service agent looking for a cheap hooker.....
May the soul of the faithful, departed Rest in Peace. May God give the strength and courage to the family of the deceased to bear this loss. God bless his soul. GOD BLESS THE USA.
Kevin Valentine Moraes
Mira Road (Thane)
Quick some one call Dick Francis, he was right. Horses and murder just go together
I think they should have rounded up the usual suspects, everyone that was at the track that day and ask them where they were at the time of the murder.
So where is PETA? They usually have some loud problem when it comes to tragedies involving horse racing. Or is a man's life just not as valuable as an animal's for them to even care?
Fix the fock'n skipping video and bad voice over please!!!!!!!! 1000,000 people at the race ( a small city) and one person gets murdered? thats about right for a city of that size ratio wise, sorry to say. If it had been New Orleans, 6 murders in a day!??? Mob hit!