Bodemeister, second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, has been retired due to an injury, WinStar Farm announced Tuesday.
According to WinStar’s press release, trainer Bob Baffert said the injury to Bodemeister’s left shoulder likely occurred a couple of weeks ago during training at Del Mar, when the son of Empire Maker stumbled.
“He was just never quite right after that and we couldn’t figure out what was going on with him,” Baffert said in the release.
Bodemeister will undergo treatment and is expected to recover in a few months, but his racing days are over. He will enter stud at WinStar Farm in 2013.
Bodemeister announced himself as a top 3-year-old after he won the Arkansas Derby by nine-and-a-half lengths. He led the Kentucky Derby field until winner I’ll Have Another caught him in late stretch.
He used the same tactic in the Preakness and was beaten a neck by I’ll Have Another.
Bodemeister, owned by Zayat Stables and Mike and Tiffany Moreno, was 2 of 6 with four second-place finishes and retires with earnings of $1,304,800.
I’ll Have Another and Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags have also been retired.
Photo by J.J. Hysell