Entering this year, War Front was already the most expensive stallion in North America, with graded/group stakes winners worldwide on both dirt and turf and massive success in the commercial arena.
The Canadian Triple Crown is a unique challenge in that it requires races on a variety of surfaces. One Bad Boy, a candidate for this year's series, is by a stallion and out of a mare who both ran well on three different types of surfaces throughout their careers.
The young classic sire Bodemeister will be represented in Saturday's Preakness Stakes by Bodexpress, looking to become the first maiden to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown since 1888. But regardless of the result, Bodemeister's ties to a century-plus of racing history already run deep. The young stallion was bred by Audley Farm of Berryville, Va., less than 100 miles from Pimlico, and the former home of 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton.
Alwaysmining has won six straight races, including five stakes, at Laurel Park in his home state of Maryland. If he keeps his win streak going in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, he will become the ninth Maryland-bred, and the first in more than three decades, to win his state's signature race.
Owners and breeders Robert Manfuso and Katy Voss have a long and prolific background in the Maryland racing industry. They are writing one of the latest chapters in their partnership with the broodmare Tanca, a multiple stakes producer.
Last year, each passing race in the Triple Crown highlighted the magnitude of the loss of the stallion Scat Daddy, as his son Justify swept through Louisville, Baltimore, and New York undefeated. There was still one more crop of runners waiting in the wings for Scat Daddy, who had died at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky in December 2015 at age 11.
Laughing Fox's appearance in the Preakness Stakes will mark the first starter in a Triple Crown race for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong.
Lookin At Lucky was anything but lucky in the 2010 Kentucky Derby. The two-time Eclipse Award champion got a nightmare trip while breaking from the rail, finishing sixth as the favorite on a sloppy, sealed track.
The late, great leading sire Danzig was expected to have an impact on this Kentucky Derby through his son War Front, the most expensive stallion in North America.
Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress became the biggest winner yet for her sire, Pin Oak Stud's homebred stallion Alternation, who continues to perform consistently from his relatively small numbers at stud.
