Bob Baffert’s National Treasure won the Preakness on Saturday, giving the embattled trainer his 17th Triple Crown race win on a day that began as tragic.
Hours earlier, another three-year-old stallion owned by Baffert, Havnameltdown, suffered a fatal injury to his left leg in an undercard race.
It was another dark moment for a sport already rocked by the deaths of seven horses at Churchill Downs in a ten-day period before the Kentucky Derby.
In the Main Event, second pick National Treasure 5-2 held off the hard-attacking Blazing Sevens down the homestretch to win the 1 3/16 mile, $1.65 million race by a margin.
Derby winner Mage finished third in the Preakness after stitching his eye from a scratch that reportedly happened in his stable. Mage’s defeat means there will be no Triple Crown winner for the fifth straight year.
Bob Baffert’s National Treasure won the Preakness and gave him 17 Triple Crown wins
National Treasure, right, with jockey John Velazquez, ousts Blazing Sevens
Jockey John Velazquez #1 with National Treasure crosses the finish line and wins the Preakness
Jockey John Velazquez won the preakness for the first time in his 12th attempt.
“It’s been a while,” Velazquez said. “The success I’ve had in other races after not winning this one – it was definitely missing, it’s special to have.”
Baffert had a roller-coaster day on his return to Pimlico Race Course after being unable to compete with a horse at Preakness last year due to a suspension. The thrill of National Treasure’s victories at Preakness and Arabian Lion in a previous stakes race contrasted with the pain of Havnameltdown’s death.
Jockey Luis Saez was conscious and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. A team of veterinarians determined that Havnameltdown’s left front leg injury was inoperable.
Black barriers were in place on the dirt road while the horse was set down. Meanwhile, 2Pac’s “California Love” blared through the infield speakers at an annual all-day celebration of thoroughbred racing.
PETA criticized Baffert, claiming that “75 horses died in his care” after it was revealed that another of his horses was euthanized at the racecourse during Saturday’s Preakness race.
Kathy Guillermo – senior vice president of the animal rights advocacy group – criticized the organizers of the Triple Crown race for allowing Baffert access to the racetrack.
The latest controversy surrounding the 75-year-old comes barely two months after a federal judge denied Baffert’s request for the Kentucky Derby coordinators to lift his two-year suspension, in what the Hall of Fame coach described as a kind of ‘abandonment culture’ in 2021 .
“Pimlico should have followed Churchill Downs’ lead and banned Bob Baffert from the track,” Guillermo told exclusively. “Baffert has been implicated in drug scandals, the deaths of seven horses that collapsed in California, and at least 75 horses in his care have died.”
“The tragic death of Havnameltdown is the latest in a long line of fatalities.” “The racing industry needs to kick out the bad guys or they’ll have blood on their hands and blood on their tracks.”
In the evening, Baffert was celebrated for winning the preakness for the eighth time, breaking a tie with 19th-century coach R. Wyndham Walden. In 2018, Baffert Walden’s seven wins at the Baltimore race tied him with Justify, who went on to become the sport’s 13th Triple Crown winner — and Baffert’s second after American Pharoah ended a long dry spell for the sport in 2015.
This was Baffert’s first preakness in two years as a suspension for 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s drug test failed resulted in disqualification in that race. Medina Spirit was Baffert’s youngest Preakness horse and placed third.
Baffert only arrived in Baltimore on Thursday this week, trying to keep a lower profile than usual in the face of the issues that plagued him and tarnished his reputation. A Hall of Famer and longtime face of horse racing, Baffert was attempting to overcome his suspension when asked Friday.
“We just keep going,” he said. “We have other horses to worry about.” A lot of that is noise, so keep the noise out and keep working.”
While horse racing fatalities in the US are at their lowest since records began in 2009, another fatality at the track hosting a Triple Crown race will only add to the industry’s internal and external scrutiny. The organization’s members have said they accept the reality of horse deaths at the racetrack, while also recognizing that more work needs to be done to prevent as many deaths as possible.
With this in mind, new national medication and doping rules are to come into force on Monday. The federal agency for equestrian integrity and safety, which already regulates racetrack safety and other measures, will oversee drug testing requirements for horses, which aims to standardize the sport nationwide for the first time.