Trainer Bob Baffert often talks about the extreme highs and lows in horse racing. On Saturday, he experienced both by winning the Preakness Stakes and watching a horrifying breakdown of one of his better 3-year-olds in an undercard race.
National Treasure upset Kentucky Derby winner Mage in the 1 3/16-mile second leg of the Triple Crown. It was the 15th straight Triple Crown race won by a different horse. You have to go back to 2018 when Justify swept all three races becoming the 13th winner of the Triple Crown. He was also trained by Baffert.
National Treasure, as expected, went to the lead with jockey John Velazquez drifting the horse off the rail to give him more options. Mage also broke sharper than usual and settled in the middle of the pack. National Treasure kept the lead all the way around heading into the stretch when Blazing Sevens started to make his move and pulled even mid-stretch and even poked his head in front for a few strides. But, National Treasure dug in and regained the lead and held on to win by a head.
After the race, Baffert was very emotional, fighting back tears in an interview with NBC.
“This business is twists and turns and ups and downs,” Baffert said. “We had a horrible race [when Havnameltdown broke down]. I was totally wiped out after that horse got hurt. … Losing that horse really hurt. It’s been a very emotional day.”
National Treasure paid $7.80 to win. Blazing Sevens was second followed by Mage, Red Route One, Chase the Chaos, Perform and Coffeewithchris.
Seven races before the Preakness was when Baffert lost his horse. It was a gruesome sight as Havnameltdown broke his left front fetlock, similar to an ankle, but continued to run around the far turn into the stretch as his jockey, Luis Saez, lay on the track. Havnameltdown was the 4-5 favorite in the Chick Lang Stakes.
After an outrider corralled the horse in mid-stretch a dark screen circled the injured horse as Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer of 1/ST Racing, and other veterinarians determined the horse could not be saved and he was euthanized on the track. Saez was taken to nearby Sinai Hospital complaining of leg pain, but his agent Kiaran McLaughlin told the Daily Racing Form that his X-rays were clean and he wanted to ride Sunday.
“We never had an issue with him,” Baffert said after the race. “We are so careful with these horses and it still happens. It is something that is disheartening. I feel so bad for that horse and I just hope Luis [Saez] is OK.
“We do grieve when these things happen. There is nothing worse than coming back and the stall is empty. … He could not have been doing any better. It’s sickening. I am in shock.”
National Treasure, front, finishes ahead of Blazing Sevens to win the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
He later tweeted: “Havnameltdown was obviously hit pretty hard coming out of the gate. We don’t know if that contributed to the injury, but we will be fully transparent with those reviewing this terrible accident.”
Saturday was Baffert’s first Triple Crown race in almost two years. He was suspended by Churchill Downs for two years after Medina Spirit tested positive for a race-day medication in 2021. Last year, he was serving a 90-day suspension during the Triple Crown series as the result of the positive test. He continues to fight in court the Medina Spirit disqualification and the suspension he has already served.
It was a calm week at Pimlico Race Course after the controversy at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier. The sport felt the harsh glare of national scrutiny as the number of horse deaths started to rise at Churchill Downs beginning when Wild On Ice, who was scheduled to run in the Derby, suffered a training accident and was euthanized. On Kentucky Derby day two horses died. In addition, five horses were scratched for mostly veterinarian issues. Since the Derby, two more have died, including one Saturday, bringing the total to nine.
The sport rebounded with the feel-good story of Mage after winning the Kentucky Derby. It was the first time in more than 50 years that a Latino owner, trainer and jockey won the Derby. There was little news during the week as the race scratched down to just seven entrants, with Mage being the only one who raced in the Kentucky Derby.
But a lot of that good feeling went away when Havnameltdown died on the track.
It will now be up to Belmont Park to change the current narrative of the sport, if it can.
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