Ten years after Kentucky Derby victor Barbaro tragically broke down at the start of the Preakness, the owners of the popular colt watched another horse they bred die during a race on a rainy Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.
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Rain came down for much of the day at Pimlico Race Course, just outside Baltimore.
“I really didn’t get a chance to talk to Mario”, O’Neill said. “I let him drift over in front of Nyquist and finish the job”.
Sal Sinatra, President and CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club, pulled back his assertion past year that the race would be better off at nearby Laurel Park.
“These turns, you want to paint the fence”, he said.
Later Saturday, Kentucky Derby victor Nyquist takes on 10 rivals in the Preakness Stakes. Nyquist is such an unbelievable horse and he still ran a great race.
The day began on a somber note.
In 2006, Barbaro shattered bones in his right hind leg just after the start of the Preakness, survived surgery but developed laminitis and was euthanized in January, 2007. Seven months later, he was euthanized.
Pramedya broke down around the turn in the fourth race Saturday, tumbled to the ground as jockey Daniel Centeno was thrown to the turf. Officials said he broke his right collarbone.
In the opening race, Homeboykris collapsed and died after his victory and having his picture taken in the winner’s circle.
BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 21: Exaggerator ridden by Kent Desormeaux leads the field to win the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 21, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. But this day was all Exaggerator – no kidding. And when I pitched him out, he did what he can do.
In winning his third Preakness, Desormeaux was grateful for a flawless trip that ended Nyquist’s ideal record. Cherry Wine paid $9.80 and $4.20, and Nyquist $2.20 to show.
Kent Desormeaux, who won the Preakness with Real Quiet (1998) and Big Brown (2008), hasn’t been riding at the top of his game for several years while battling personal problems, but the three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey’s ride yesterday was nothing short of brilliant.
Race favorite Nyquist finished third, narrowly behind Cherry Wine, in the second leg of USA thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown series for 3-year-olds after a day of rain at Pimlico Race Course. The duel was costly. He had just won his 14th race in 63 career starts.
“It’s a bummer, of course”, said O’Neill, whose Nyquist entered the 1-3/16 mile race at Pimlico with an 8-0 career mark.
Trainer Doug O’Neill said before the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes that he wasn’t anxious about the dank, rainy weather that hovered over Pimlico Race Track Saturday. “You know what, we made history today and that’s unbelievable”.
Keith and Kent Desormeaux – the latter a Preakness-winning jockey in 1998 and 2008 – became the first brothers to team up to capture the middle leg of the Triple Crown. “The horse in front of me started to stop and I had to take hold because there was another horse coming up outside of me”. It was the first Preakness victor for the trainer who also began his career in Maryland, and third for the Hall of Fame rider.
With the promise of another potential triple crown victor in Nyquist, a duel with a longtime rival in Exaggerator and the freshness of last year’s triple crown win by American Pharaoh, there was certainly a lot of expectation and buzz around this year’s Preakness Stakes. “The one thing I’m probably proudest of is to win this with these two”.
Justin Square, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Martin Pedroza, sprinted home in 1:11.41 over a muddy track and is flawless in three career starts. He ran by Nyquist – who had never been passed – on the outside and then angled back toward the rail for his victory dance to the wire. In the 3-year old debuts for each, it was Nyquist by 1 1/2 lengths in the San Vicente.
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The Desormeaux brothers have different personalities, and seem to enjoy ribbing each other.
