Oxbow will not race again in 2013

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Preakness winner Oxbow will not run again this year, and trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Monday he wouldn’t be surprised if the horse never raced again, though that is a decision to be made by owner Brad Kelley of Calumet Farm.

Oxbow suffered an ankle injury when finishing fourth in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 28. Though Lukas said Oxbow is sound, he has not returned to training and is simply walking the shed row.

Lukas said that Oxbow would be vanned this week from Saratoga to Calumet Farm in Kentucky and would be re-evaluated by Dr. Larry Bramlage in approximately 30 days.

“This year, we’re not thinking of running him,” said Lukas, echoing comments he made to HRTV last Friday. “Bramlage told me there’s no sense in pushing him, just give him the time he needs.”

Lukas said that Kelley, the proprietor of Calumet Farm, would have the final say on whether Oxbow would return to race at age 4. But Lukas, understanding the economics of the sport, said he wouldn’t be surprised if Kelley opted to stand him at stud.

“It gets to be an economic decision, it is the Sport of Kings, but not when it comes to that,” Lukas said. “What happens is they say he can breed out $2.5 million and he probably can’t run that out. Mr. Kelley is a pretty good sportsman though, he may elect to run him again, but it wouldn’t surprise me what they do.”

Eddie Kane, the farm manager at Calumet, said no decisions have been made.

“We’re going to bring him back to the farm, give him a little time,” Kane said. “We haven’t discussed his future yet.”

Oxbow is a son of Awesome Again out of the unraced mare Tizamazing, who is a full sister to champion Tiznow. Oxbow has won 3 of 13 starts and $1,243,500. In addition to winning the Preakness, Oxbow won the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds. He finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes.