Patch

As you may know from my post derby day, I'm obsessed with horses and the Kentucky derby, so when I heard this story I had to share it.

I was looking at the race list and I saw one hose, Patch, that I hadn't seen race before and when I clicked on his name so many articles came up. I started reading about him and fell in love with his story.

Patch was a young colt, with an excellent pedigree, who was in training under Todd Pletcher to become a race horse. One day they found that he had an infection in his left eye from an unknown cause. Vets tried different treatments, but were eventually forced to remove the eye. However, this didn't stop Patch from becoming a derby horse. He adapted really well after losing the eye and qualified for the Kentucky Derby after placing second in the Louisiana race in 2016. He was also very lucky because his trainer worked with a partially-blind horse in the past, but still said he was amazed by his determination on the track.

Patch was definitely the underdog in todays race with 30-1 odds and he drew a bad post position, 20, but even though he didn't place, he came in 14th, which is incredible for a visually impaired horse. Even thought the odds weren't in his favor, he was a fan favorite on twitter, @PatchHorse, and in the stables with the fans. After hearing his story, I ,of course, couldn't stop looking at pictures of him and I even saved a few to my derby day Pinterest board.

If you're interested NBC did an interview with trainer Todd Pletcher about him here.

#patch #racehorse #inspiring #derbyday