Hennig seeking right Kentucky Derby prep for Americanus

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Like everyone else, trainer Mark Hennig doesn’t know what impact the coronavirus outbreak will have on the immediate future of the racing industry or the status of this year’s Kentucky Derby. What he does know for certain is that he has a horse in Americanus who has earned himself a shot at an upcoming Derby prep, although he does not know just where that race will be.

Americanus exits a rail-skimming one-length victory over a strong field of first-level allowance horses going seven furlongs here Feb. 22. The son of War Front has worked twice since, including five furlongs in 1:01.89 in company here Thursday.

“He’s doing excellent, but we haven’t made any plans yet,” Hennig said. “I’ll keep nominating him up everywhere and figure it out as we go along, I guess. The Florida Derby is definitely still in play, especially in light of everything going on in the world right now. It might just be easier to keep him here.”

Hennig said he does not have a specific date targeted to ship his horses back to New York once the Championship meet ends on March 29.

“I don’t think we’ll change our schedule, it seems to be the same situation everywhere,” Hennig said. “It will probably depend more on when and where some of our horses will be running.”