A horse trained by Bob Baffert was euthanized on the track after going down with injury and unseating his jockey during a race on the Preakness undercard on Saturday.Havnameltdown, the 4-5 favorite, broke slowly from the rail during the sixth race, the Chick Lang Stakes, allowing Gaffalione and Ryvit to establish command up front.Havnameltdown and jockey Luis Saez were able to move into a stalking position by the first quarter of a mile, which went in 22.23 seconds, and the two rounded the far turn side-by-side.Approaching the stretch, Havnameltdown stumbled and threw Saez off his back while Ryvit was able to continue on and draw clear of late-running Prince of Jericho. Havnameltdown continued running around the final turn in some distress. The 3-year-old colt was looked at by veterinary staff before being euthanized.1/ST Racing released a statement, saying, in part: “During the Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico, the No. 1 horse, Havnameltdown, sustained an injury and immediately received on-track medical attention from an expert team of veterinarians led by Dr. Dionne Benson. During the subsequent evaluation, she observed a non-operable left fore fetlock injury. Due to the severity and prognosis of the injury, Dr. Benson and her counterparts made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the horse.”Saez was conscious and taken to a hospital for evaluation, complaining of leg pain, the track announced. He was attended to by medical personnel on the track for several minutes before being put on a stretcher and into an ambulance.Video below: WBAL NewsRadio’s Scott Wykoff reads from 1/ST Racing’s statementSaez, a Panamanian who turned 31 on Friday, was scheduled to be the jockey on First Mission, which was scratched on Friday from the Preakness because of an issue with his left hind ankle.”The loss of Havnameltdown will be felt across the entire horse racing community, and everyone at the MJC and 1/ST Racing extends our heartfelt condolences to Havnameltdown’s connections,” 1/ST Racing said in its statement.Baffert has horses running on Preakness weekend for the first time in two years after returning from a suspension stemming from 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s failed drug test. He was not able to enter horses in the Derby either of the past two years as part of a decision by Churchill Downs. He could not have any in the 2022 Preakness or Belmont because of a 90-day ban in Kentucky respected by Maryland and New York.One of his horses, Arabian Lion, won an earlier race. Baffert is also set to saddle National Treasure in the Preakness.Havnameltdown, owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, had won four of his six career starts prior to this race. He’d most recently finished second in the Saudi Derby in February.The fatality comes on yet another major race day, in the aftermath of the Kentucky Derby being overshadowed by the deaths of seven horses at Churchill Downs over a span of 10 days.
A horse trained by Bob Baffert was euthanized on the track after going down with injury and unseating his jockey during a race on the Preakness undercard on Saturday.
Havnameltdown, the 4-5 favorite, broke slowly from the rail during the sixth race, the Chick Lang Stakes, allowing Gaffalione and Ryvit to establish command up front.
Havnameltdown and jockey Luis Saez were able to move into a stalking position by the first quarter of a mile, which went in 22.23 seconds, and the two rounded the far turn side-by-side.
Approaching the stretch, Havnameltdown stumbled and threw Saez off his back while Ryvit was able to continue on and draw clear of late-running Prince of Jericho.
Havnameltdown continued running around the final turn in some distress. The 3-year-old colt was looked at by veterinary staff before being euthanized.
1/ST Racing released a statement, saying, in part: “During the Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico, the No. 1 horse, Havnameltdown, sustained an injury and immediately received on-track medical attention from an expert team of veterinarians led by Dr. Dionne Benson. During the subsequent evaluation, she observed a non-operable left fore fetlock injury. Due to the severity and prognosis of the injury, Dr. Benson and her counterparts made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the horse.”
Saez was conscious and taken to a hospital for evaluation, complaining of leg pain, the track announced. He was attended to by medical personnel on the track for several minutes before being put on a stretcher and into an ambulance.
Video below: WBAL NewsRadio’s Scott Wykoff reads from 1/ST Racing’s statement
Saez, a Panamanian who turned 31 on Friday, was scheduled to be the jockey on First Mission, which was scratched on Friday from the Preakness because of an issue with his left hind ankle.
“The loss of Havnameltdown will be felt across the entire horse racing community, and everyone at the MJC and 1/ST Racing extends our heartfelt condolences to Havnameltdown’s connections,” 1/ST Racing said in its statement.
Baffert has horses running on Preakness weekend for the first time in two years after returning from a suspension stemming from 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s failed drug test. He was not able to enter horses in the Derby either of the past two years as part of a decision by Churchill Downs. He could not have any in the 2022 Preakness or Belmont because of a 90-day ban in Kentucky respected by Maryland and New York.
One of his horses, Arabian Lion, won an earlier race. Baffert is also set to saddle National Treasure in the Preakness.
Havnameltdown, owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, had won four of his six career starts prior to this race. He’d most recently finished second in the Saudi Derby in February.
The fatality comes on yet another major race day, in the aftermath of the Kentucky Derby being overshadowed by the deaths of seven horses at Churchill Downs over a span of 10 days.
