Race horse loses rider but wins our hearts by racing without him
They're calling him a dark horse, but we see nothing but a bright beacon of what perseverance in the face of adversity looks like.
At the Preakness Stakes show Saturday on Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, the take-no-sh*t horse named Bodexpress bucked off his rider before even leaving the gate. But he wasn't gonna let the split on the account of their creative differences keep him from doing what he does best: racing his goddamn heart out.
Embodying the #resistance movement, Bodexpress persisted, completing the entire race without his jockey.
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His joyride of freedom might not have been within the rulebook of the Pimlico Race Course, but it was a victory for the spirit. Bodexpress became an internet sensation, even getting his own Twitter moment.
Despite stealing the show, though, he was ultimately disqualified for not finishing the race (which is BS, if you ask us). Ironically, the much less strong-willed horse named War of Will took the prize home instead.
Bodexpress' jockey, John Velazquez, was thankfully uninjured -- aside from the hurt to his pride.
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"When the doors opened, I was off right from the start. He kind of jumped sideways," he told ESPN about their disastrous start. "I had my feet out of the irons, so I lost my balance then, I went off."
But honestly we get it. Maybe Bodexpress just got tired of only getting half the credit while doing most of the work. Maybe he's a symbol of the proletariat revolt that late stage capitalism needs. After all, it's the horse who's out there busting his ass winning races yet this guy gets all the fame and glory? Not in our America, buddy.
"He was just not behaving good in the gate. He was not sitting really well," said Velazquez, in a completely incorrect assessment of this very good boy horse's behavior.
We don't care if you didn't officially win, Bodexpress. You're a hero. And you don't let The Man tell you what races you can and can't participate in.
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
