Caixa Electronica Wins True North Handicap, Giant Ryan Fractures Ankle

Caixa Electronica, at 4/1 odds, took home the six-furlong True North Handicap, the seventh race of the day in the buildup to the Belmont Stakes. He ran it in less than a minute and ten seconds, but that wasn’t the story of the race. That unfortunate distinction belonged to Giant Ryan, the No. 6 horse owned by Shivananda Racing, which fractured a bone in his left ankle and suffered ligament damage just before the finish line. From USA Today:

Jockey Willie Martinez was slowing the horse, Giant Ryan, when he fell to the dirt about 40 yards from the finish in the seventh race. Martinez hopped to his feet. The horse also regained his footing but was unable to put weight on his left leg.

Track workers brought out a black curtain and surrounded the horse, who was loaded into a van and taken from the track.

Giant Ryan was put in a cast, and his future health is still up in the air.

For more on the Belmont Stakes, stay with this StoryStream and check out SB Nation’s horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come. There, you’ll also find A Beginner’s Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.