Mr. Big News being considered for Preakness

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mr. Big News, whose third-place finish at 46-1 in the Kentucky Derby blew up the exotic-wagering payoffs, is a candidate to run back in the Preakness, although trainer Bret Calhoun stopped short Monday of fully committing the colt to the Oct. 3 race at Pimlico.

“We’re definitely considering it, but we won’t make a final decision for a couple of weeks,” said Calhoun.

Until just before entries were drawn Sept. 1, Mr. Big News barely had been a blip on the Derby radar after finishing a well-beaten sixth at 34-1 in the July 11 Blue Grass. But Calhoun and owner Chester Thomas made a last minute switch to divert him from the American Turf to the Derby, even after the colt had undergone his last two pre-race workouts over the Churchill turf.

Mr. Big News proceeded to justify their decision with a terrific performance. Emerging from mid-pack on the final turn, he and jockey Gabriel Saez loomed boldly nearing the quarter pole before finishing 3 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Authentic. The son of Giant’s Causeway earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, easily a career high.

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“He ran huge,” said Calhoun. “Quite a thrill. Going to the three-eighths pole, I thought we had a chance to win the whole thing. They didn’t quite come back to us. Just an incredible race on his part.”

Calhoun said he “kind of planned this thing a month before, when it didn’t look like it would be a full field and I knew it was going to be an option. We were able to breeze him on the grass a couple of times. The last one, it was very wet and soft, and it didn’t really look like it was going to work out for us over the turf.

“We were able to get in the Derby at a mile and a quarter over a track where he’d been training really, really good. It was worth taking a swing.”

The $1 trifecta of Authentic, Tiz the Law, and Mr. Big News paid $1,311.80. The $1 superfecta, with Honor A. P. fourth, was worth $7,925.80 even with the three race favorites in the mix.

Mr. Big News automatically qualified for the Preakness when he captured the ungraded Oaklawn Stakes on April 11. He is 2 for 8 lifetime, with his other victory coming in a January maiden race at Fair Grounds.