May 19, 2019

Wacky start to Preakness - Bodexpress throws jockey

War of Will won Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, but Bodexpress -- a horse that finished out of the money – was the story everybody was talking about.

Bodexpress threw his jockey immediately after leaving the gate – and ran riderless - the rest of the way. At one point he caught up with the pack during the big event at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.

“You've got to be careful because some of them try to win,” legendary trainer Bob Baffert told the AP3 about such runaway horses. “I've had horses that try to win. They actually run a great race sometimes.”

Although it doesn't usually happen in a Triple Crown race, this isn't the first time a horse has thrown his rider.

''I've seen everything. I've seen that, yeah, of course,'' Baffert said. ''I had one that did it. I was a heavy favorite a while back that did it. I never had one before and it happened to me this year. I thought I'd seen everything.''

Veteran jockey John Velazquez wasn’t hurt when he took the fall. After the race, Velazquez spoke about what happened.

“When the doors opened, I was off right from the start. He kind of jumped sideways,” Velazquez said. “I had my feet out of the irons so I lost my balance then, I went off.

"When you come in here to a big race and then things like this happen with the horses, it's disappointing," Velazquez said.

Video on NBC appeared to show a handler inside the gate still in contact with Bodexpress when the gate opened, possibly explaining why the horse bucked. The handler is seen gesturing in frustration at the bad start.