If the top three finishers from the Kentucky Derby run back as expected in the May 16 Preakness Stakes, they will dominate the prerace wagering regardless of what other horses might be entered in the second jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico in Baltimore.
Just as in the Kentucky Derby, it looks like trainers Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher will determine the complexion of the Preakness Stakes, though unlike the Derby, the Preakness is shaping up as having a field perhaps half the size of the Derby.
American Pharoah, Firing Line, and Dortmund, the first three finishers in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, are being pointed to the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 16, their trainers said Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.
Verraco, who finished fourth in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Racecourse on April 18, is a candidate for the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 16, trainer Jim Cassidy said.
Jose Corrales won his biggest race as a trainer last week when Bodhisattva pulled away in the stretch of the $100,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico. The Tesio is the final stakes for 3-year-olds in Maryland prior to the Preakness, but Corrales, who also owns Bodhisattva, is a realist, and he will only run there if he thinks the horse belongs.
Employing a stalking style while traveling for the first time and stepping up to a Grade 3, $400,000 race, Whiskey Ticket won again, showing heart to hold clear a late, wide rally from Conquest Curlinate in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne.
Suffice it to say there will be no Dortmunds in the starting gate Saturday at Hawthorne Race Course when Cross the Line lines up in post 3 for the Grade 3, $400,000 Illinois Derby. He faces eight rivals, none of whom have shown the talent Cross the Line has evidenced, and ought to be more heavily favored than his 3-1 morning line.
When it comes to the 3-year-old crop of 2015, the West is best. California-based American Pharoah and Dortmund will be the top two choices in the Kentucky Derby, while Firing Line, who romped last out in the Sunland Derby, will come in for some support, and perhaps three other California-based horses – One Lucky Dane, Bolo, and Ocho Ocho Ocho – are prospective Derby starters.
Mr. Jordan and Competitive Edge were two of the fastest 2-year-olds in the country last season, both undefeated and relatively untested before being sidelined with injuries. But something will have to give when they launch their 3-year-old campaigns in Friday’s $60,000 Tamarac, an overnight stakes carded at seven furlongs.
The Maryland Jockey Club on Wednesday afternoon released a 21-race stakes schedule for the Pimlico spring meet that will offer total purses of more than $4.2 million. Two Preakness weekend bonus programs for owners and trainers were also announced.
