Social Inclusion arrived in Baltimore on Thursday morning after a van ride of almost 19 hours from south Florida. The Preakness will mark the fourth career start for Social Inclusion, who won his first two races before finishing third in the Wood Memorial.
Manny Azpurua, 85, the trainer of Social Inclusion, would become the oldest trainer to win the Preakness if his colt prevails. Art Sherman, 77, became the oldest trainer to win the Derby with California Chrome’s victory.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In his second day back training after winning the 140th Kentucky Derby last Saturday, California Chrome galloped 1 1/2 miles at Churchill Downs on Thursday as he prepares for the May 17 Preakness at Pimlico.
His gallop under regular exercise rider Willie Delgado was routine and much like those he turned in before the Kentucky Derby. Settled for the first mile or so, he picked up his pace over the final half-mile.
California Chrome was greeted last week in Kentucky with a misspelled saddle towel (“Califorina”) and a Churchill Downs media bio that referred to him as a “bay colt by Lucky Pulpit.”
He will arrive in Maryland next week as the toast of the racing world, a white-stockinged California superstar every bit as chestnut as the day he was born.
Julian Pimentel, who has ridden Kid Cruz to a pair of minor stakes victories, will keep the mount aboard the colt for the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes, trainer Linda Rice confirmed Wednesday.
“Frankly, he knows the horse; he’s run well for him. I like the fact he’s riding that track,” said Rice, who will be making her Preakness debut.
Rice also mentioned that when her owners, Steven Brandt and Richard Boylan, decided to allow Black Swan Stable – from which they claimed Kid Cruz – to buy back into the horse, it was “good karma. I feel the same way about Pimentel.”
Pimlico Race Course will add a pick three to its wagering lineup linking the Pimlico Special on May 16 with the Dixie Stakes and Preakness Stakes on May 17, the track announced Wednesday.
The bet will have a 50-cent minimum and a 25.75 percent takeout, Pimlico said. The Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, is Pimlico’s biggest race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four days after winning the 140th Kentucky Derby, California Chrome finally took a victory lap around Churchill Downs.
With exercise rider Willie Delgado aboard Wednesday, the chestnut colt never got out of a slow jog when going once around the one-mile oval clockwise. It was his first trip back to the track where he became the first California-bred since 1962 to win the Derby and the only horse to keep alive hope of becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years.
All horses running in the Preakness Stakes on May 17 will be required to be on the grounds of Pimlico Race Course by noon of the Thursday prior to the race and will be subjected to additional security protocols, the track announced Tuesday.
Hoppertunity, the winner of the Rebel Stakes and the runner-up behind California Chrome in the Santa Anita Derby, had surgery to remove a bone spur in his ankle this week. Hoppertunity will get 30 days off and then resume light training if all goes well, trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday on “At the Races with Steve Byk.”
“We’re going to miss all the major stuff. He’s going to be a good horse in the fall,” Baffert said.
Northern California-based trainer Steve Sherman was at a nice little family get-together over the weekend – in the Churchill Downs winner’s circle after the Kentucky Derby. Sherman is the son of Art Sherman, who won the Kentucky Derby with California Chrome on Saturday.
“That’s the most excited I’ve ever been,” he said. “I haven’t had a feeling like that since my daughter was born.”
There are significant races in the Mid-Atlantic in the spring, summer, and fall, races with great tradition and big purses. The Preakness at Pimlico, however, stands alone.
It is the first time we all get to see the Kentucky Derby winner run, and a shot at the Triple Crown is at stake.
This year, we are fortunate to have a truly exceptional horse who keeps running the same way race after race. The Derby was the fifth straight race California Chrome has put away at the head of the stretch. None of the speed horses can keep up with him. None of the closers can catch him.
