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.
Medina Spirit returned to the racetrack for the first time since his half-length victory Saturday in the Kentucky Derby when jogging an easy mile Wednesday as dawn was breaking at Churchill Downs.
While trainer Chad Brown is definitely planning to run Crowded Trade in the Preakness Stakes, he hasn’t ruled out also running Risk Taking in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
On the day it was announced he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that he will take a shot in one of the few major races he has yet to win, as Unbridled Honor will run in the Preakness Stakes.
Thoroughbreds are often evaluated on paper – on how those black-and-white squares of past performances and Beyer Speed Figures and statistics line up against their foes. But intangible things can also elevate a horse. And if that quality known as heart – the will to win when the chips are down – can be found in a scrutiny of bloodlines, then Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has come by his honestly.
Concert Tour, who skipped the Kentucky Derby after a disappointing third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby, will run in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes on May 15 at Pimlico, setting up a match with stablemate Medina Spirit, the Derby winner, trainer Bob Baffert said Monday afternoon.
Tex Sutton, the dominant equine air-transport company in the U.S., is anticipating a service disruption beginning next week due to its ongoing efforts to secure a new lease for a cargo plane, the company's president said on Monday.
As of Tuesday morning, at least 10 3-year-olds are under consideration for the May 15 Preakness in Baltimore, with the victorious Medina Spirit among three Kentucky Derby starters whose connections are talking about wheeling back two weeks later in the second jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.
Concert Tour, third last out in the Arkansas Derby, has been training at Churchill Downs in his yellow Kentucky Derby saddle towel, and while trainer Bob Baffert decided shortly after the Arkansas Derby that Concert Tour would pass the Derby, the colt still is bound for a Triple Crown race.
Though Crowded Trade put in a sharp workout Saturday morning at Belmont Park, trainer Chad Brown said afterward the horse remains on target for the Preakness on May 15 and he still plans to run Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Highly Motivated in the Kentucky Derby.
