At the start of the 144th running of the Preakness Stakes, one horse lost its jockey as the field exploded from the gates.

John Velazquez was thrown from Bodexpress, the No. 9 horse, moments after the gates opened. Despite losing its rider, the horse continued to charge down the outside of the track as Velazquez lifted himself off the track just outside the gates. He wasn't injured.

"He wasn't behaving well in the gate," Velazquez said in an interview on NBC. "He got me against the wall. Obviously, when the doors opened, I was (thrust) off. I lost my balance, and went off. I'm disappointed. To come into a big race like this. Some things like this happen with horses. But I'm just disappointed."

Bodexpress stayed with the field the entire race. One outrider tried to chase down Bodexpress as he entered the stretch run just behind the pack, but they couldn’t catch the thoroughbred as he charged toward the finish line with the rest of the field.

Even after War of Will won the race, Bodexpress continued around the track and evaded outriders trying to corral him. Eventually, an outrider did catch up to him and he appeared OK on the TV coverage as he trotted off the track.