Steel only who finished fifth in the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course suffered a fracture to his right front leg, and is doing well after surgery, noted veterinary surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage said May 22.
Speaking in a video interview recorded Wednesday and published that afternoon on X by Light Up Racing, a group committed to promoting Thoroughbred racing and caring for racehorses, Bramlage described Just Steel’s fracture is somewhat unusual “in that it’s not just a straight line.”
Just Steel, who recently suffered a broken condylar due to an RF fetlock in the Preakness Stakes, has undergone successful surgery and is currently recovering.
Injuries in racehorses can occur due to the physical demands of the sport, but thanks to… pic.twitter.com/W0yzU9AL8i
– LightUpRacing (@LightUpRacing) May 22, 2024
“It’s shaped like an upside-down Y,” he continued. “So it had a V-shaped piece at the joint surface that we had to sandwich between two pieces of bone, but the surgery went very well. We put two screws in and he walked out of the operating room.” surgery after we walked with a limp.” So that’s generally a good sign this morning.
As with other surgeries involving horses, complications can sometimes occur during recovery from surgery.
“We won’t be out of the woods for two months because we have to see how that bone heals,” said the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital veterinarian. “But this is a very good start and we are happy with where we are.”
Harry Schmueckle’s BC Stables and Just Steel was one of two horses run by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas in the Preakness Stakes, the other winning MyRacehorse’s Embrace the gray . My 3 year old son justification Just Steel was 2-for-13 with earnings of $784,545.
