National Treasure wins the 2023 Preakness Stakes

Irreplaceable asset won the 2023 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore Saturday night.

Corridor of Notoriety coach Bounce Baffert got the success, only hours after one more of his ponies was euthanized following a prior race. The success made Baffert the most dominating coach in Preakness Stakes history and the main mentor to have eight ponies come out on top in the race.

Bursting Sevens set second, and prerace number one and Kentucky Derby champ Mage set third in the seven-horse field. The success implies no pony will bring back home the sought after Triple Crown this year, accomplished when a pony wins the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes in a single year.

Irreplaceable asset was ridden by Corridor of Notoriety jockey John Velazquez, who counted his most memorable win at the Preakness Stakes.

The three-year-old foal entered the race at 3-1 chances.

Irreplaceable asset’s success denotes a victorious return for 70-year-old Baffert. Baffert’s pony Medina Soul won the Kentucky Derby in 2021, however it was subsequently uncovered the pony had tried positive for raised degrees of betamethasone, a calming medicine.

In response, the two-time Triple Crown winner received a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs, a one-year suspension from the New York Racing Association, and was suspended from last year’s Preakness Stakes.

An emotional Baffert described himself as “totally wiped out after that horse got hurt” in a post-race interview, referring to the euthanization of his horse Havnameltdown earlier Saturday.

“The emotions of this game. There’s so many responsibilities a trainer has,” he said. “To win this, losing that horse today really hurt, but I’m happy for [jockey] Johnny [Velasquez], he got the win. I have a great team, I got my boys with me. I’m sorry but it’s been a very emotional day.”

In addition to the horse injured at Pimlico today, seven horses died at Churchill Downs in the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby, and an eighth last Sunday. One trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr., was suspended by Churchill Downs due to the “highly unusual” deaths of two of his horses.

Churchill Downs has said it will collaborate with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to investigate each death.