Vet Mark Gerard, in horse race fraud, dies

Mark J. Gerard, a veterinarian for champion horses like Kelso and Secretariat whose racetrack career was ruined when he ran a ringer in a 1977 race at Belmont Park, has died.

He was 76.

He died June 21 of complications from a stroke in Miami, according to his sister, Joyce Aimee Titchnell of Los Angeles. He was at work on June 6 at a stable in Wellington, Fla., where he treated polo ponies, when he was stricken.

Gerard was a well-regarded veterinarian at New York's major racetracks in the 1960s and '70s, overseeing the health of hundreds of horses owned by the sport's top stables and trainers.

-- AP