LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun won’t run in the Preakness, and neither will his stablemate Caddo River, trainer Brad Cox announced Thursday afternoon on a teleconference call hosted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. The defection of the Cox horses leaves no more than 10 known prospects for the Preakness on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, with the Bob Baffert-trained pair of Medina Spirit and Concert Tour the likely favorites. Entries will be drawn Monday. Cox said a decision to opt out of the Preakness with Mandaloun was made shortly before he came on the teleconference call and that the Juddmonte Farms homebred will be pointed to later Grade 1 races. “He ran extremely well and hard” in the Derby last Saturday, said Cox, “and we feel like we would like to give him some time. To run him back in two weeks, we feel like it would compromise his opportunity to run the rest of the year. In the best interest of the horse, to run him back in two weeks is just not the right thing for him.” :: DRF's Preakness Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more As for Caddo River, the Shortleaf Stable homebred who was second in the April 10 Arkansas Derby in his most recent start, “we haven’t done enough with him to pursue the Preakness,” Cox said. Instead, the Grade 3 Matt Winn on May 29 at Churchill Downs is his likely next start. Earlier this week, Cox eliminated Essential Quality, fourth as the favorite in the Derby, from Preakness consideration. Although he won’t have a Preakness starter, Cox still intends to send “six or eight” horses to Pimlico for other stakes on the May 14-15 cards. He also said running in the final leg of the Triple Crown, the June 5 Belmont Stakes, with any of his 3-year-olds is still possible. The defection of Mandaloun leaves just three Derby horses running back in the Preakness – the winner, Medina Spirit, along with Midnight Bourbon (sixth) and Keepmeinmind (seventh). This is the third straight year the Derby runner-up has skipped the Preakness. The last Derby runner-up to wheel back in the Preakness was Good Magic, fourth in the fog in 2018 behind Justify. The last Derby runner-up to win the Preakness was Exaggerator in 2016. Earlier Thursday, Medina Spirit was back for a second morning of light training at Churchill, including a gate-schooling session, after getting three mornings off following the Derby. The Florida-bred colt “is really in peak form right now,” his trainer, Bob Baffert, said from California when preceding Cox on the NTRA call. Baffert is scheduled to return Saturday to Louisville so as to be on hand Sunday morning to see Medina Spirit train and to send his second Preakness prospect, Concert Tour, through a final pre-race breeze. A victory from either Baffert horse would give the Hall of Fame trainer a record-breaking eighth Preakness win. He currently shares the record of seven wins with R. Wyndham Walden. Also Thursday at Churchill, Steve Asmussen said Irad Ortiz Jr. has picked up the Preakness mount on Midnight Bourbon. Ortiz, the three-time reigning Eclipse champion jockey and the leading jockey in North America in wins again this year, teamed with Asmussen to win the 2016 Belmont Stakes with Creator. Other riding assignments nailed down in recent days include Joel Rosario on France Go de Ina, Flavien Prat on Rombauer, and Luis Saez on Unbridled Honor. :: Join DRF Bets and get ready to watch and wager on the Preakness with a $250 first deposit bonus  Pimlico officials reported France Go de Ina arrived Wednesday in Los Angeles following an overseas flight from Japan. After clearing quarantine, the colt is scheduled to be flown Saturday to Newark, N.J., then arrive Saturday evening following a four-hour van ride to Baltimore. The Kentucky-bred colt by Will Take Charge has raced four times, winning 2 of 3 in Japan before getting away to a poor start when finishing sixth in the UAE Derby on March 27 in Dubai. Also at Churchill, Keepmeinmind has resumed training and will be among those shipping early next week to Maryland. An upcoming disruption in service for Tex Sutton, the widely used equine-charter carrier, means the Kentucky horses all will be vanned to Pimlico. Both Baffert colts go Monday. Robertino Diodoro, who trains Keepmeinmind for a partnership that includes Spendthrift Farm, told Pimlico officials that he believes running back on two weeks’ rest will benefit the late-running colt. Diodoro is expected back at Churchill on Sunday after spending time this week in Arkansas. In the Derby, Keepmeinmind “got back to his old running style, where he just gallops along the first part of it, was nice and relaxed and takes one run at them the last three-eighths,” Diodoro said. “I think his running style is more suitable when you have to come back in two weeks.” David Cohen retains the mount on Keepmeinmind. – additional reporting by Jay Privman