ESPN Horse Racing

General Quarters was not injured in a minor traffic accident involving his horse van on Tuesday afternoon, but the incident gave a scare to his trainer and owner, Tom McCarthy.

"I had a vet go all over him," McCarthy said Wednesday morning. "He's OK. No scrapes or anything. I was afraid he might be stiff this morning. But he's fine."

General Quarters, like Mine That Bird, traveled from Churchill Downs to Pimlico in a one-horse van on Tuesday. He was almost at Pimlico when his van collided with a car.

"The van driver had to slam on the brakes, and my horse moved forward and to one side," McCarthy said.

McCarthy was thrilled with the way General Quarters took to the Pimlico track during a 1 3/8-mile gallop on Wednesday morning.

"He loves the track. I could tell the way he went over it that he enjoyed it," McCarthy said. "It's a sandy track, like Tampa."

General Quarters won the Sam Davis Stakes at Tampa, then later took the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. He finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby.

"He caught a terrible track at Churchill," McCarthy said. "It was too greasy. He couldn't grab hold of it. You used to be able to use shoes with toe grabs in front, and all you can use behind now are quarter-inch bends, which isn't enough. You used to be able to use mud caulks, but you can't. You ended up with a race where one horse came down the rail going faster than anyone, and everyone else was swimming.

"But he still beat some very nice horses under very trying times, with a very difficult trip."

General Quarters is the only horse trained by McCarthy, a retired schoolteacher and principal.

"I enjoy it," he said. "I enjoy coming to the barn and I enjoy working with him. I have a good time with it. I look forward to getting up and working with him. He's a very smart animal. He's intelligent. He looks around. He stands still in his stall when I talk to him. The only thing he'll try to do is nip me. Not bite, nip. But that's only if I haven't given him a peppermint."