Animal Kingdom Diagnosed with Cannon Bone Injury After the Belmont

After his near fall on Saturday, it has been announced that Animal Kingdom sustained an injury to his left hind leg according to the Paulick Report.

The colt was stiff on Sunday and a bit lame the next few days, which had trainer Graham Motion sending him to New Bolton Research Center for a nuclear scan. Today, New Bolton’s Dr. Dean Richardson and Rood and Riddle’s Dr. Larry Bramlage examined radiographs.

The radiograph showed a small fissure on the tip of the cannon bone where it connects to the hock.

"It's not a major thing. I agree with Dr. Richardson that the best course of action is to keep the colt inactive for 2 weeks and radiograph the leg again,” Dr. Bramlage told the Paulick Report.

“In two weeks it should settle down and he should be sound again. I don't think it is going to separate, but that would be the worry. Right now it is a tiny crack and technically you could call it a fracture. But I would characterize it as more of a fissure because of how small it is.”

Dr. Bramlage hopes the colt can return to training in a couple of weeks and said the injury should not knock the colt out for the rest of the season.

Animal Kingdom was a surprise winner in the Kentucky Derby and was second in the Preakness Stakes. The horse clipped heels soon after the break of the Belmont Stakes on June 11 and almost unseated Johnny Velazquez before finishing sixth in the race behind winner Ruler on Ice.