Louisville Handicap to have cast of about eight

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A field of perhaps eight older horses was expected when entries were taken Wednesday for the Grade 3, $100,000 Louisville Handicap, the local Saturday feature on a day when most everyone will be looking forward to the Preakness simulcast from Pimlico.

The Louisville, a 1 1/2-mile turf race that highlights an 11-race card, will not be getting its 122-pound highweight, Da Big Hoss. The winner of the Grade 2 Elkhorn last month at Keeneland for Mike Maker, Da Big Hoss will make his next start instead at Arlington or Belmont, co-owner Harvey Diamond said Monday. Maker still will be represented in the Louisville by Roman Approval.

The Pizza Man, the 2015 Arlington Million winner who has earned $1.9 million, had been mentioned several weeks ago as targeting the Louisville, but Midwest Thoroughbreds instead is pointing the 7-year-old homebred gelding to the Grade 2 Wise Dan on the June 18 Stephen Foster undercard. The Wise Dan, set for 1 1/16 miles on turf, formerly was the one-mile Firecracker.