Horse racing lost a potential Triple Crown tonight on the muddy banks of the Preakness, but gained a formidable rivalry filled with intrigue and full of run.

Exaggerator surged down the sloppy stretch of the Preakness, clear past his previously unsolvable nemesis and pulled away to a 3 1/2 length romp—his first win over Nyquist in five tries.

If everything came up Nyquist two weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby, Exaggerator got everything he needed to flip the script in Baltimore. The sky opened up early in the day for this slop-loving son of Curlin, who took back on the rail as Nyquist carved out wickedly fast fractions while dueling with Uncle Lino. Jockey Kent Desormeaux then angled Exaggerator outside at the turn for home with a full tank of gas as Nyquist fought valiantly but futilely on fumes.

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Kent Desormeaux notched his third win in the Preakness. (photo courtesy of Maryland Jockey Club)

 

“I hope it’s not only because of the muddy track,” trainer Keith Desormeaux deadpanned after the race, his first career win on the Triple Crown trail. “The horse has been training phenomenally. My philosophy was to take it as easy as possible because you’re not going to gain any fitness in those two weeks. I did what I could to get him happy and fresh and strong and I’ve always said he’s always had a great ability to recover and he showed it today.”

Exaggerator’s Preakness win comes 9 years after his sire Curlin turned the tables on Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense over this same track.

You could almost see the shock and sense the dismay on Nyquist’s face as he had nothing left to stave off both Exaggerator and late-running longshot Cherry Wine, settling for 3rd and tasting defeat (and mud) for the very first time. Though there will be no Triple Crown intrigue at the Belmont this year, the burgeoning rivalry between these supremely talented colts has been thrilling to watch. And the Brothers Desormeaux are a reality show in progress. What will those wild cajuns do next?

“My hat’s off to Exaggerator and Team Desormeaux,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “Nyquist is an amazing horse and still ran a great race. He’s still a winner in our book. These horses aren’t machines. They all lose at one time or another.”

“I didn’t think we could get beat, to be honest with you.”

Nyquist did run huge. He set a brutally quick pace with an opening quarter in 22.1, the fastest in Preakness history. The constant pressure from Uncle Lino to his inside never afforded the colt a chance to settle. No horse this side of Secretariat can be expected to have enough in the final furlong to repel a mud monster like Exaggerator. It was clear Team Nyquist was keen to play “catch me if you can” on Saturday, or perhaps Mario Gutierrez was just unable to corral the colt as he so beautifully did early in the Kentucky Derby.

The connections from both camps wasted little time confirming an encore was imminent in the Belmont Stakes.

No Triple Crown, no care. We’ll take another round with these heavyweights.

Death on the undercard

Two horses died on the track in early stages of the day at Pimlico. 9-year-old gelding Homeboykris collapsed on the walk back to the barn after winning the first race, a starter allowance, his 14th win in 63 career starts. No official cause of death has been announced, but it is speculated the gelding, who competed in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, suffered a cardiac event. Here’s this from trainer Frank Campitelli’s son, Chris:


The 4th race was marred by the breakdown of 4-year-old filly Pramedya, who appeared to be moving well over the damp turf course when she collapsed on the far turn, unseating jockey Daniel Centeno. The leg injury was severe enough that veterinarians had to euthanize her. Centeno was taken to the hospital with a fractured clavicle.

Whenever a horse dies on the racetrack, the first question to ask is, “Could anything have prevented this?” Some will say the answer is “Yes, end horse racing.” Well, ok, then what do we do with the tens of thousands of horses and humans left without a job?

Truth is, thoroughbreds are literally made to run. Even if they never touched a racetrack and only occupied pastures and prairies, they would still gallop and race. Injuries can happen when horses compete in any activity. Hell, they can find ways to get hurt without moving. One can only hope the people responsible for their care are truly in it for the horse. We all know that’s not always the case, everyone has bills to pay, and that’s unfortunate but a reality in every industry and facet of life. Knowing nothing about his connections, the training regiments or intentions, Homeboykris was a Grade I winner as a 3-year-old and now, six years later, was running for cheap claiming tags, frequently moving around from barn to barn. That’s not an ideal situation for a horse.

Sure, Ben’s Cat is still running at age 10, but Ben’s Cat has been in the same pair of hands his entire life. Ben’s Cat is still competing, and winning, at the same level he always has. His form is not in decline, and when you know a horse that well, you know when something is even the slightest bit off. It’s not a black and white issue. There doesn’t need to be an age limit on racehorses, but there should be more of an effort by race officials to spot cases where horses are running well below their median form. There are numerous organizations actively seeking out and taking in such cases, but they can only do so much.

Whatever caused the injury to the filly Pramedya was most likely completely unavoidable. The 4-year-old was in good hands and had been running and training exceptionally coming into today. It’s an especially tough pill to swallow for her owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables, who watched their champion Colt Barbaro breakdown in the Preakness 10 years ago. And, just like Barbaro, Pramedya broke through the starting gate prior to the race before being reloaded.

The cruel irony was not lost on Roy Jackson.

“You ask yourself, ‘What are we doing in the game?’ It’s so ironic. We both have not really taken it all in. We’re still in shock.”

There are no excuses for the methods of the cheats and scoundrels in this and all other equine sports. But to paint an entire industry with the same brush undermines the majority of stakeholders who work hard every day to ensure the best for their horses.

There’s no way around it:

This sport can be beautiful, thrilling and inspiring, as we saw in the main event. It can also be ugly, unfair and heartbreaking. Today, we saw both.

 

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