The ABC Wide World of Sports telecast used to kick off with legendary TV host and personality Jim McKay uttering “The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.” And never were those atipodal points more evident than they were for trainer Bob Baffert on Pimlico’s Preakness Day card. His first runner on the card, Arabian Lion (Justify) strode to a four-length victory in the Sir Barton S., getting the Baffert team off to a fast start. However, the celebration was short lived. Two races later, 4-5 choice Havnameltdown (Uncaptured) broke down tragically during the running of the GIII Chick Lang S., necessitating his euthanasia. The Baffert team was utterly devastated. Fast forward to the day’s feature event, the Baffert team sheltered in Pimlico’s indoor paddock to watch the race, and while Baffert put on a brave face, chatting with the media, his wife Jill looked visibly shaken. Just moments later, nerves and anticipation culminated in an explosion of emotion as National Treasure (Quality Road) crossed the wire in front. Baffert’s son, Bode, had his father in an intense bear hug, shouting in jubilation. And in a heartbeat, Bob worked his way over to Jill, engulfed in the frenetic excitement and, who just collapsed into his arms in a flood of tears. The couple’s emotionally charged and lingering embrace felt palpable to many in the small group of bystanders.
“This business is twists and turns, ups and downs,” said Baffert. “We started out great, we had a horrible race and we’ve been totally wiped out after Havnameltdown got hurt. The emotions of this game, there’s so many responsibilities a trainer has–employees, horse and jockey safety, and then to win this…Losing that horse today really hurt. I’m very happy for Johnny [Velazquez] that he got the win. It’s been a very emotional day.”
The victory marked a record eighth Preakness win for the Hall of Fame trainer, surpassing Robert Wyndham Walden (7) and Baffert’s good friend and fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas (6).
“To win eight–right now I’m not thinking about the eight because, hopefully, I want to come back here and add to that. But I’m happy for just this horse doing what he did today. I mean, this horse brought us all out of just a horrible moment today, and I’m just grateful to that horse.”
The victory also marked the first Preakness win for Velazquez, who has been aboard for all six of the colt’s career starts.