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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)
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