Rich Strike to Blackwood Stables in Versailles

A new trainer has not yet been named for 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, but owner Rick Dawson indicated that he plans for the colt to remain based in Kentucky.

Dawson wrote on his Facebook page that his horses were moved on Saturday from former trainer Eric Reed’s Mercury Equine Center in Lexington to Blackwood Stables in Versailles, on the other side of town. Blackwood, a full breaking, training, and lay-up facility, has a six-furlong dirt track and a turf course and is accredited for public official workouts.

Dawson did not name a new permanent racetrack trainer for Rich Strike, who is winless in six starts since his Derby upset. However, he wrote that “it’s important to me that my horses remain in the Lexington area.”

Reed resigned as Rich Strike’s trainer last Thursday, due to differences with Dawson over image rights and a media deal to depict the story of the colt’s Derby win.

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