Conquest Mo Money will await Preakness

Tom and Sandy McKenna, the owners of Conquest Mo Money, announced on Tuesday that they will not put up a $200,000 supplementary fee to run Conquest Mo Money in the Kentucky Derby on May 6 and will instead await the Preakness Stakes two weeks later. The supplementary fee for the Preakness is $150,000, which also makes the horse eligible for the Belmont Stakes.

The announcement was made by Tom McKenna on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference at Sunland Park in New Mexico, where Conquest Mo Money raced four times this meet, including a second-place finish behind Hence in the Sunland Park Derby.

Conquest Mo Money finished second to Classic Empire in the Arkansas Derby on Saturday, earning $200,000.

The McKennas race under the stable name Judge Lanier Racing. Conquest Mo Money is trained by Miguel Hernandez. The McKennas purchased Conquest Mo Money, a colt by Uncle Mo, for just $8,500 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale in November.

Conquest Mo Money made his debut on Jan. 6. He owns three wins and two seconds in five starts.

Conquest Mo Money has earned 60 points on the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the field for the Derby should more than 20 enter, which seems a certainly this year. Those 60 points would have placed him 12th on the list.

The expected defection of Cloud Computing would make the bubble horse Lookin At Lee, ranked 21st on the points list, followed by Sonneteer. Lookin At Lee would be first in should there be a defection from those currently in the top 20. Among those currently with enough points, but not certain to run, is Malagacy, who is ranked 13th with 50 points. He won the Rebel but finished fifth in the Arkansas Derby.