Kentucky Derby: Early Voting opts out, will wait for Preakness
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Making official what had been expected for the last few weeks, trainer Chad Brown on Sunday said that Early Voting would skip Saturday’s 148th Kentucky Derby and instead point to the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 21.
Early Voting’s defection enables Pioneer of Medina to make the body of the Derby field. Entries for the Derby were to be taken Monday. The field is limited to 20 starters based on points earned in designated qualifying races. Up to four also-eligibles may be entered, but would be scratched by Friday morning if there are no defections by then.
Since Early Voting’s second-place finish to Mo Donegal in the April 9 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, Brown had said, due to Early Voting’s lack of experience, he was leaning toward waiting for the Preakness, but he reserved the right to change his mind if the complexion of the Derby field changed significantly. After virtually all of the contenders put in their final workouts in Kentucky, Florida and California over the weekend without incident, Brown withdrew Early Voting from consideration.
Brown said while Early Voting has made just one less start than his other Derby contender, Zandon, he doesn’t have the experience of that horse.
‘He’s had some trips where he’s a little more battle-hardened to not only perform well in the Derby but survive the Derby, so to speak,” Brown said of Zandon. “Part of my job is managing risk for horses and clients and you’re not always right, but you have to manage risk and the long run. I think in this case, based on my experience, the more logical, safer approach is to give [Early Voting] six weeks in between starts, only inch him out another sixteenth of a mile in distance after getting run down going shorter, and put him in a starting gate with less horses in it.”
Early Voting has never raced outside of Aqueduct, having won his maiden and the Grade 3 Withers there before being run down late by Mo Donegal in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 9.
On Saturday, at Belmont Park, Early Voting worked five furlongs in 1:00.64 over Belmont’s training track.
Early Voting’s defection means Pioneer of Medina, third behind Epicenter and Zozos in the Louisiana Derby, is officially in the race. On Saturday, he worked a half-mile in 47.66 seconds in company with Charge It, the Florida Derby runner-up who is also running in the Kentucky Derby.
“He needs to make another step forward, but we like what we’re seeing,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “If you look at his speed figures, he’s made steps forward in every start of his career. If he has the capability of doing that again I think he’s a horse that has a shot to hit the board.”
As of Sunday morning, Pletcher was attempting to firm up a jockey for Pioneer of Medina, who has had six riders in as many starts, three of whom have commitments in the Kentucky Derby.