BALTIMORE — Bob Baffert's National Treasure crossed the finish line first in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday in the trainer's return from a suspension and just hours after another of his 3-year-old horses was euthanized on the track.
Baffert headed to the winner's circle on the same day that his colt Havnameltdown went down with a fatal left leg injury in an undercard race. Baffert said he and his team were in shock.
«Winning this,» Baffert said, choking back tears after National Treasure's win, «losing that horse earlier really hurts. It's been a very emotional day.»
The fatality was another dark moment for a sport already reeling from the deaths of seven horses at Churchill Downs in a 10-day span leading up to the Kentucky Derby.
Derby winner Mage finished third in the Preakness. His defeat means there will not be a Triple Crown winner for a fifth consecutive year.
National Treasure, the 5-2 second choice, held off hard-charging Blazing Sevens down the stretch to win the 1 3/16-mile, $1.65 million race by a head.
Jockey John Velazquez won the Preakness for the first time.
Baffert had a rollercoaster day in his return to Pimlico Race Course from a suspension that kept him from entering a horse in the Preakness last year. The thrill of victories by National Treasure in the Preakness and Arabian Lion in an earlier stakes race contrasted with the agony of Havnameltdown's death.
«It's sickening,» Baffert said. «We are so careful with all these horses, and it still happens. It is something that is disheartening. I feel so bad for that horse, and I just hope that [jockey Luis Saez] is OK.»
Saez was conscious and transported to a local hospital for treatment. A team of veterinarians determined Havnameltdown's left front leg
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