“Devastated? You can’t make this stuff up. Why is this man still being allowed to train and kill racehorses?” — Tuesday’s Horse

By Ben Church and Homero De la Fuente

(CNN, May 20, 2023) — One of the horses in an undercard race before today’s Preakness Stakes, the Bob Baffert-trained Havnameltdown, has been euthanized, after suffering a serious injury this afternoon, officials said.

“The news comes . . . in the wake of the deaths of eight top racehorses in the past month.”

The news comes just hours before the running of the second leg of the Triple Crown, and in the wake of the deaths of eight top racehorses in the past month.

“During the Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico, the number one horse, Havnameltdown, sustained an injury and immediately received on-track medical attention from an expert team of veterinarians, led by Dr. Dionne Benson,” said 1/ST Racing, who own and operate Pimlico Race Course, in a news release, per CNN affiliate WMAR.

“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 Havnameltdown.”

Jockey Luis Saez was transported to a hospital for further evaluation, but he was stable and conscious, according to the Preakness Stakes organizers.

“We are just devastated,” Baffert said in a post on Twitter.

“We don’t know if that contributed to the injury, but we will be fully transparent with those reviewing this terrible accident. Right now, our thoughts are with Luis Saez and we are hopeful he will be okay.”

Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer, returns to this year’s Preakness Stakes after serving a lengthy suspension from the sport.

The 70-year-old was banned from all three Triple Crown races last year after his horse, Medina Spirit, tested positive for betamethasone – an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid sometimes used to relieve joint pain – during the Kentucky Derby in 2021.

Featured Image: Patrick Smith | Copyright: 2023 Getty Images

Tuesday’s Horse

Official Blog of The Fund for Horses

6 thoughts on “Another dead racehorse. Baffert “devastated.””

If you were ever in the field when they let these young animals out of the gate: they RUN the shit out of these horses. It’s stress, unneeded thyroid hormones ( potent antiinflammatories, & a slew of performance drugs) , in underdeveloped animals. Breaking legs all day & dropping dead from heart attacks. How much insurance do they get reimbursed for a dead horse? If they were losing money on a dead horse they wouldn’t push them to death. Baffert always reeked of entitlement & corruption. Watch a video of Citation winning a race. You will notice a different breed of animal in a different time. That time is over.

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Tuesday's Horse May 27, 20236:25 AM Reply

Thank you, Van, for your comment. We hope it makes people who think most of these horses have good lives, will see the truth about it — the horribly abusive realities of horseracing.

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I doubt he is DEVASTATED. well devastated he did not win a race, he does not care about the horses, 70 year old needs to pack up and leave racing.

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Creepy Baffert pretends to be devastated.
Horse and animal lovers around the world feel utter disgust about the horseracing industry brutally handling and killing horses every day.
The politicians and governments who legalise, support and condone horseracing should hang their heads in shame. They ignore the research and findings of world-renowned veterinarian scientists and the like evidencing the unacceptable animal cruelty inherent in horseracing.
Jane Allin’s work is a must-read.

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