Bob Baffert-trained horse dies after suffering injury at Preakness undercard

The horse racing world received more bad news on Saturday when a horse trained by Bob Baffert had to be euthanized after suffering an injury at a Preakness undercard race at Pimlico.

The horse, Havnameltdown, reportedly buckled and threw jockey Luis Saez in the sixth race of the day.

It was determined the horse suffered an injury to its left front leg and that it was inoperable. The horse was then put down.

Saez was alert and taken to Sinai Hospital for evaluation. 

“It’s the worst feeling. And we grieve. We do grieve when these things happen. There is nothing worse than coming back and the stall is empty,” said Baffert, via the Associated Press. “He is a nice horse. He could not have been doing any better. It’s sickening. I am in shock.”

The incident comes just a couple of weeks after seven horses died in a 10-day stretch at Churchill Downs in the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby. It also comes as Baffert makes his return to the Preakness after a two-year absence. It is his first Triple Crown race since 2021 when he was issued a suspension after his horse, Medina Spirt, was disqualified from its Kentucky Derby win for failing a drug test. 

Saez was supposed to jockey First Mission in Saturday's Preakness as one of the favorites, but that horse was scratched because of an ankle issue.