Baffert headed to the winner's circle on the same day that his colt Havnameltdown went down with a fatal left leg injury in an undercard race. Baffert said he and his team were in shock.
Bob Baffert choked back tears and his voice cracked while trying to juggle the feelings of one of his horses winning the Preakness Stakes and another being euthanized on the same track.
National Treasure, the 5-2 second choice, held off hard-charging Blazing Sevens down the stretch to win the 1 3/16-mile, $1.65 million race by a head in 1:55.12. Mage finished third after going off as the 7-5 favorite, paying $2.40 to show. His defeat, caused by a pace much slower than the Derby, means there will not be a Triple Crown winner for a fifth consecutive year.
"It's been a while," Velazquez said. "The success that I had in other races, not having won this one - it was definitely missing, so special to have it." By evening, Baffert was celebrated for winning the Preakness for a record eighth time, breaking a tie with 19th-century trainer R. Wyndham Walden. In 2018, Baffert matched Walden with seven wins at the Baltimore race with Justify, who went on to become the sport's 13th Triple Crown winner - and Baffert's second, after American Pharoah ended a lengthy drought for the sport in 2015.
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