Body Found at Churchill Downs Hours After Kentucky Derby
Police Suspect Adan Fabian Perez Was Murdered After Competition
A body was discovered in a barn behind Churchill Downs Sunday morning, just hours after the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby.
The body of 48-year-old Adan Fabian Perez, a Guatemalan immigrant, was found at around 5 a.m. in a barn occupied by Louisville trainer Angel Montano Sr.
Montano did not have a horse competing in Saturday's race.
Perez had worked at the Churchill Downs track and resided in the track's housing quarters for workers, but did not work in Barn No. 8, where his body was discovered. Around 200 people reside in and around Churchill Downs at any period of time, according to The Associated Press.
The body of Perez was identified by his 19-year-old son.
"At this point we don't have anything pointing to the fact that this had any association with Churchill Downs or the Derby itself," Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said on Sunday.
Smiley sad that Perez had sustained injuries that lead investigators to believe that the 48-year-old native of Guatemala was involved in an altercation prior to his death. Officials have indicated that they believe Perez may have been the victim of a homicide.
"Our investigation is ongoing as to why he would have specifically been at this location," the spokeswoman said before sharing that police currently do not have information on potential suspects.
An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
The Kentucky Derby is an annual race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses that is held on the first Saturday of May following a two-week long festival.
At Saturday's run, a chestnut colored colt named I'll Have Another took home the prize, winning at 15-1 odds. The horse was purchased at the age of two for $35,000 and was ridden at Saturday's race by Mexican-born Mario Gutierrez.
The 25-year-old rookie became the 42nd jockey in the 138 years of Kentucky Derby history to win during his first try at the race.
