Coming around the final turn, Havnameltdown began bucking and Jockey Luis Saez lost his hold on the horse. Havnameltdown was a strong favorite to win the 2023 Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico on the day of Preakness Stakes but was instead euthanized on the track.
Luis Saez was awake and alert following being transported from the track. He was replaced in his other races.
Havnameltdown was a 3-year-old colt that was sired by Uncaptured out of the mare Ashley’s Babe. Havnameltdown was trained by Bob Baffert and has raced for Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. The horse was bred in Florida, United States by Katherine S. Devall.
This death follows a string of 8 deaths at Churchill Downs over the last 3 weeks, including seven during the week of the Kentucky Derby.
With Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) still in its nascent stages and currently experiencing court cases that will test its regulatory strength, it will be interesting to see how this string of tragedies influences horse racing and horse safety. HISA hasn’t yet been tested in making major changes nationally to racing so this may be the year that it begins to evaluate its stances in horse safety.
