Horse euthanized hours before Preakness Stakes after suffering injury, officials say

One of the horses in an undercard race before today's Preakness Stakes, the Bob Baffert-trained Havnameltdown, has been euthanized, after suffering a serious injury this afternoon, officials said.

The news comes just hours before the running of the second leg of the Triple Crown, and in the wake of the deaths of eight top racehorses in the past month.

"During the Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico, the number one horse, Havnameltdown, sustained an injury and immediately received on-track medical attention from an expert team of veterinarians, led by Dr. Dionne Benson," said 1/ST Racing, who own and operate Pimlico Race Course, in a news release, per CNN affiliate WMAR.

"During the subsequent evaluation, she observed a non-operable left fore fetlock injury. Due to the severity and prognosis of the injury, Dr. Benson and her counterparts made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Havnameltdown."

Jockey Luis Saez was transported to a hospital for further evaluation, but he was stable and conscious, according to the Preakness Stakes organizers.

"We are just devastated," Baffert said in a post on Twitter. "This is a shock to everyone at our barn who love and care for these horses every day. Hanvameltdown was obviously hit pretty hard coming out of the gate."

"We don't know if that contributed to the injury, but we will be fully transparent with those reviewing this terrible accident. Right now, our thoughts are with Luis Saez and we are hopeful he will be okay."