National Treasure won the 148th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, shattering Kentucky Derby winner Mage’s hopes of capturing the Triple Crown.
National Treasure, ridden by jockey John Velazquez and trained by Bob Baffert, finished first under the wire at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course a head ahead of Blazing Sevens. The winning time was 1:55:12.
Baffert now has the most Preakness wins by a trainer with eight. He was previously tied with Robert Wyndham Walden, who won the race seven times in the late 1800s. Baffert missed last year’s Preakness while serving a suspension after 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a drug test and was disqualified. Two weeks ago, he missed the the Kentucky Derby for the second year in a row because of the sanctions. He has trained two horses that went on to win the Triple Crown — American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.
One of Baffert’s horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized on the Pimlico track earlier Saturday following the Chick Lang Stakes when the horse suffered an inoperable ankle injury. Jockey Luis Saez was thrown off and taken to the hospital, but was “stable and conscious.”
“This business is all twists and turns, the ups and downs. We had a horrible race and we’ve just been really totally wiped out after that horse got hurt,” a clearly emotional Baffert said after National Treasure’s Preakness win. “…There’s so many responsibilities a trainer has… Losing that horse today really hurt, but I’m happy for Johnny. He got the win… It’s been a very emotional day.”
‘Industry must kick out the bad guys’:Animal rights groups condemn Bob Baffert, call for change after another racehorse dies
Mage finished third after winning the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. That means there is no possibility of a Triple Crown winner during the Belmont Stakes on June 10.
It’s not clear if National Treasure will run at Belmont.
“Soak this up,” Baffert said when National Treasure’s owners directed a question about the Belmont Stakes to the trainer. “It’s been a tough go. We always think big, but the horse will let us know if he’s able to bounce back and go to Belmont. We’ll have a meeting.”
After First Mission scratched Friday, only seven horses raced in the Preakness. It was the smallest field since 1986 and, with only Mage making the trip to Baltimore with a short turnaround from Churchill Downs, it was the first time since 1948 that only one entrant from the Kentucky Derby participated in the Preakness.
First Mission was removed from the running because of a concern about his left hind ankle. Earlier this month, there were five scratches before the Kentucky Derby, including favorite Forte. The weekend at Churchill Downs was also marred by the deaths of seven horses.
