Patch has been the story in horse racing in the months leading up to the Kentucky Derby. Despite missing his left eye, the horse qualified for the Derby. Exactly what happened to Patch's eye remains a mystery. The race team found him in the barn with a swollen eye after a training session. Trainer Todd Pletcher recounted the story to the Kentucky Derby. “It’s a mystery,” Pletcher told the Kentucky Derby. “No one knows exactly how it happened. We led him out of his stall one morning, and the eye was swollen shut, with a lot of tearing. There was no evidence of any trauma, or scratches or scrapes, so no evidence of him getting cast in his stall. The vet came out and looked at it, treated it. Did all the normal stuff at the barn for a week. We felt like it was improving for the first few days, then it started not responding. There was a lot of inflammation in the globe of the eye. They never really knew why it wouldn’t respond." Patch had to have surgery to remove his eye in July 2016. While no one knows exactly what happened, what is clear is Patch has become an inspiration to fans across the country. It remarkable that he was able to qualify for the Derby despite competing with only one eye. The team does not seem concerned about his lack of vision, but admits his inexperience could be cause for concern. He missed racing his second-year after he was recovering from the surgery. From Pletcher to jockey Tyler Gaffalione, Patch has a team of people rooting him on in the Derby. Click the arrow on the right side of the middle of the page to see the best photos of Patch and learn more about the entire team. (Getty)
Horse: Patch
Bio: Patch heads to Churchill Downs with just three races under his belt in 2017. He is coming off a second place finish in the Louisiana Derby. The horse's other two races happened at Gulfstream Park. Patch won the February race and came in second in the January contest. According to America's Best Racing, the horse has earned $230,020 in 2017 and has a solid speed figure of 105. ESPN's Jeannine Edwards spoke on ABC's "Good Morning America" about the significance of Patch's injury and the inspiration he has been to many horse racing fans. "He’s an underdog with a disability, but he doesn’t let that disability keep him on the sidelines,” Edwards told ABC. “Patch actually lost his left eye less than a year ago to inflammation. The vets tried to salvage it. They could not and had to [surgically remove] the eye. Peripheral vision is very important to horses so that they can see all the way around them, so he basically can only see half his world. Three prior horses with one eye have raced in the Kentucky Derby. None have won. Patch is looking to be the first. It would be quite an upset indeed.” Prior to the Kentucky Derby, Patch had not raced in a contest of that magnitude but neither had any of the other horses. It was the same in the Louisiana Derby where Patch performed well. (Getty)
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Bio: Gaffalione made his Derby debut on Patch. According to America's Best Racing, he has won $3,785,104 in 2017 and $16,648,217 over his career. According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, he is a third-generation jockey. His father is Steve Gaffalione and his grandfather went by the name Bobby Gaffglione. “My dad taught me to have a good work ethic,” Gaffalione told America's Best Racing. “He would say, ‘Whatever you do make sure you’re committed all the way. Have a good attitude, don’t get too cocky, try to stay level headed.’ Really, everything I am is because of him. He was always there for me and always supported me 100%. He is so supportive. He calls me after every day of racing. We talk on the phone for hours and go over replays. He is my No. 1 fan and I can never thank him enough for all the love and support he has given me. He is a great father, a great friend, a great mentor.” It is a story that sounds like a movie as Gaffalione makes his Derby debut on a horse with impeded vision. (Getty)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Bio: Pletcher's three 2017 Kentucky Derby entries tied him for the most starts in Derby history with 48 but none have been quite like Patch. Pletcher spoke with America's Best Racing about the challenges Patch has overcome. “My biggest concern was he was already well into his 2-year-old year. He was already up to a half-mile breeze and he’d had two full eyes for over two years,” Pletcher told America's Best Racing. “So my concern was, how is he going adapt to it? From my experience, which is limited with a handful of horses, it seems like the ones that do best are the ones who lose their eye really young because that’s all they know. But I think the remarkable thing about him is we really haven’t had to do anything special.” Pletcher has earned $336,844,328 over his career and his lone Kentucky Derby victory came in 2010 with Super Saver. (Getty)
Owner: Calumet Farm
Bio: Patch is owned by Calumet Farm which is based in Lexington, Kentucky. The farm purchased his mother, Windyindy, when she was still carrying Patch. According to the Kentucky Derby, they purchased her for $180,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. She gave birth to Patch on March 18, 2014. He was named Patch well before he lost his eye. It was a nod to his father, Union Rags. Calumet farm manager Eddie Kane explained they tried to salvage his eye but were unsuccessful. “As a two-year-old, he developed an ulcer that would not clear up even with the best of care, so they had to remove the eye,” Kane told the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher has admitted that no one would know he was missing an eye just by watching him run. "If you watched him train and didn't know that he had one eye, there’s no indication of him doing anything peculiar in his training or in his races that would make you concerned about the one eye," Pletcher told the USA Today. (Getty)
Patch: Photos of the One-Eyed Horse, Jockey & Trainer