Point Given Retired!

Horse Racing

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Point Given and Bob Baffert in happier times courtesy of Tina Hines.

Dateline: 09/01/01

Sadly less than a week after his victory in the Travers Stakes, Point Given was retired after it was discovered he had strained the tendon in his left front leg. Trainer Bob Baffert said: "I took him to the track for track first time (Thursday), and the groom noticed heat below the left knee in the tendon area. I went to check it out, and it was warmer than the other knee. It was thicker, like something going on over there. So, he walked and we put him in ice." Later in the day veterinarian Dr. Vince Baker did an ultrasound and found that he had strained the tendon.

Although he could possibly have returned to the races in 5 - 6 months, Prince Ahmed Salman of the Thoroughbred Corporation made the decision to go ahead and retire him. Baffert had this to say about the retirement: "This is a big blow, not only for us but for the racing community. I feel very cheated that we didn't get to see his best. He was just turning the corner to become the great horse that he is. This is the part of the business that I hate. But you have to thank God that this didn't happen in a race, or when he was a two-year-old. You never know when these things might happen. He could tear it and do lot of damage. Right now, it looks pretty normal. The thing is on a horse like that, if he hadn't done what he already accomplished, you might try and bring him back. But he already stamped himself as a great horse. You don't want to take a chance, and that's the way the Prince felt. It would take a long time to get him ready to bring him around, going back to that level."

Currently Point Given is at Baffert's barn at Del Mar and no decision has been made as to where he will stand at stud, although it will almost certainly be in Kentucky.

Point Given ended his career with a lifetime record of 13 starts with 9 wins, 3 seconds, and no thirds and total earnings of $3,968,500. His victories included the Travers Stakes, the Haskell Invitational, the Belmont Stakes, the Preakness, the Santa Anita Derby, the San Felipe, the Hollywood Futurity, and the Kentucky Cup Juvenile plus a second place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.