WATCH: Thousand Words scratched from Kentucky Derby after rearing and falling at the Churchill Downs paddock
The horse was okay after the fall

Though the Kentucky Derby may have come with a dream result for Bob Baffert -- with his horse Authentic winning - things certainly didn't start out that way as horses were being led to their starting positions. Thousand Words, another horse that Baffert had trained, was scratched from the 146th running of this race after an accident in the paddock area of Churchill Downs.
Video of the incident shows Thousand Words getting startled and then rearing up on his hind legs, causing him to lose his saddle. The horse then fell on its back on the road, shaking off the handlers trying to calm him down.
Thousand Words just reared badly in the paddock, late in this video. pic.twitter.com/FFpHrWiCTL
— Derby News (@KentuckyDerbyCJ) September 5, 2020
Baffert later told NBC Sports that his assistant, Jimmy Barnes, suffered a broken hand during the incident. In the video, you can see a man in a suit jacked trying to calm the horse down and then clutching his hand after Thousand Words shook him off. Video from shortly after the accident itself shows that the horse was doing okay after the nasty spill.
Thousand Words is okay. pic.twitter.com/Vi0wUPv6cd
— Alicia Wincze Hughes (@AHughesNTRA) September 5, 2020
It was a bitter start to what ultimately became a successful day at the track for Baffert. His remaining horse in the Derby, Authentic, was able to pull out an upset victory over heavy favorite Tiz the Law. The win tied Baffert for the record of most wins in the competition by a trainer with six, tying a record held by Ben A Jones since 1952.














