When the 140th Preakness is run at Pimlico on Saturday, the event will be the shining moment of the year in Maryland racing, but it also will represent the industry’s most vexing problem.
With five of the top six finishers from the Kentucky Derby – including the first three – all under consideration for the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico, very few are willing to take them on, which could result in the smallest Preakness field since 2000.
Looking at Divining Rod’s pedigree, it’s not hard to see why one would get excited about the colt’s stallion potential, especially if his on-track resume passes muster. A win on Saturday in the Preakness Stakes would go a long way toward checking that box.
Tale of Verve and Bodhisattva, the two horses who could be the longest prices in what is shaping up as a small field for the 140th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico, both had their final workouts Sunday.
Danzig Moon, fifth in the Kentucky Derby, will come back in the Preakness Stakes, meaning four of the first five finishers from the Derby are bound for the second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico on May 16.
Roy and Gretchen Jackson are excited about running Lexington Stakes winner Divining Rod in the Preakness next Saturday. But they are aware that their Preakness participation will stir up memories – both for themselves and the public – of Barbaro.
Five days after his victory in the Kentucky Derby, American Pharoah returned to the track for training on Thursday morning at Churchill Downs as he began the quick turnaround for the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 16.
Firing Line merely jogged Wednesday morning, and he was scheduled to jog again Thursday after doing nothing more strenuous than walking Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. The routine coming out of a race will feel normal for Firing Line. But things are about to change.
Gary Stevens says he knows how to beat American Pharoah in the Preakness with Firing Line. He does not say he is going to beat American Pharoah in the Preakness with Firing Line, but he knows what he needs to do to make it happen.
Once my head cleared from the confusion that Kentucky Derby results have not been confusing for the last three years, I tried to put this Derby into proper context while looking back at how I framed my bets.
