The Preakness got off to a tragic start on Saturday, May 21, 2016, with two horses dying in the first four races and a jockey hospitalized with a broken collarbone. The thoroughbred, Exaggerator, who finished second to Nyquist twice previously, won the race.
Monument to Barbaro at Churchill Downs
The Preakness got off to a tragic start on Saturday, with two horses dying in the first four races and a jockey was hospitalized with a broken collarbone before Exaggerator won the race.
© 2016 by Lisa Andres
The gelding, Homeboykris, died after a come-from-behind victory in the first race at Baltimoreâs Pimlico Course. After leaving the winnerâs circle, he suffered an apparent heart attack and collapsed. A planned necropsy will determine the official cause of death.
Pramedya, owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stables, broke her leg during the fourth race and fell to the muddy track. The four-year-old filly was euthanized on the track. Pramedyaâs jockey, Daniel Centeno, broke his right collarbone in the fall and was taken to Sinai Hospital.
The death of Pramedya comes 10 years after Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, another Lael Stables horse, suffered life-ending injuries at the Preakness. Barbaro broke his right hind leg during the race and died after months of failed treatment.
The deaths of the two horses reminded the public of the death of Barbaro who raced in the 2006 Preakness as a heavy favorite, but, after he false-started, he fractured three bones in and around the fetlock of his right hind leg.
The injury ruined any chance of a Triple Crown in 2006 and ended his racing career. While his right hind leg eventually healed, a final risky procedure on it proved futile because the colt soon developed further laminitis and Barbaro was euthanized on January 29, 2007
Racehorse deaths are not an anomaly. The cardiovascular strain of the sprints and the susceptibility of horsesâ delicate legs result in many injuries. According to a New York Times report, twenty-four horses die each week at U.S. racetracks.
Following Saturdayâs deaths, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals demanded the release of the medical records of the horse that died.
PETA senior vice president Kathy Guillermo said âStudies â and our own investigations â have shown that most breakdowns and deaths occur because horses have pre-existing injuries that are masked by the excessive use of legal medications. We want to know if that is what happened in the cases of Pramedya and Homeboykris. In todayâs racing drug culture, at least three horses are dying every day on U.S. tracks. The foolish use of muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory drugs, and other medications must end now.â