Tuscan Gold, the third-place finisher in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, was to scratch from Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Aqueduct and will run in the $2 million Preakness Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico, trainer Chad Brown said Thursday.
Tyler Gaffalione will ride Tuscan Gold in the Preakness.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan returned to the track Wednesday at Churchill Downs, jogging a mile and galloping a mile, but trainer Kenny McPeek reiterated his stance that he will wait several more days before deciding whether or not to send him to Baltimore for the $2 million Preakness on May 18.
McPeek said Mystik Dan walked for three days before returning to the track, which typically is what McPeek does with his horses after a race. McPeek said “all good” when asked how Mystik Dan appears to be doing. “He’s staying in the feed tub, nothing’s out of place.”
Mugatu, who entered the Kentucky Derby but failed to draw in from the also-eligible list, will make his next start in the $2 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 18, trainer Jeff Engler said Tuesday afternoon. Joe Bravo will ride.
Bob Baffert wants the lead-up to the $2 million Preakness to be about Kenny McPeek, the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan.
“He’s the man of the hour and he should be,” said Baffert, while also acknowledging McPeek’s victory in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna. “It’s all about McPeek.”
When it comes to the Preakness, however, it’s typically all about Bob. Last year, Baffert won his record eighth Preakness when National Treasure fended off Blazing Sevens to win the middle jewel of the Triple Crown by a head.
The New York Racing Association and Monmouth Park in New Jersey have reached an agreement that will result in expanded coverage for Monmouth’s races on “America’s Day at the Races,” the NYRA production that airs on Fox Sports, the two companies announced on Monday.
Saturday’s broadcast of the Kentucky Derby on NBC drew the highest audience for the race since 1989, according to figures distributed by the network.
The Total Audience Delivery measure – which includes streaming viewership – was an average of 16.7 million viewers during the race portion of the broadcast, from 6 p.m. Eastern to 7:15 p.m., according to NBC. That was the highest figure since the Derby win by Sunday Silence in 1989, when viewership for the single television broadcast was 18.9 million viewers.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bob Baffert has won 12 graded stakes this year, including five Grade 1 races in Arkansas, California and Florida.
The figure equals what he accomplished at the same time through the first weekend of May 2023, and is one more graded stakes win than the same time frame in 2022.
This year, the success may be the foundation for a better late spring and summer for the Hall of Fame trainer. In coming weeks, Baffert, 71, has major contenders in important stakes in Maryland and California.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Ken McPeek said Sunday morning that Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is not definite to run in the $2 million Preakness Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico.
After taking the traditional morning-after-the-Derby phone call from Pimlico officials inviting the Derby winner to the Preakness, McPeek told the assembled media outside his Churchill Downs barn Sunday morning that he could wait until entry day - May 13 - to decide whether to run Mystik Dan in the Preakness or train up to the Belmont Stakes on June 8.
Total commingled wagering on the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville set a record and was up 10.1 percent over the record betting last year, according to charts of the races.
Total betting, including the multi-race bets ending in the Derby, was $198.3 million, up $18.16 million over last year’s record, according to the charts. The total was easily a record for any race ever run in North America, continuing a strong run for Derby handle since the waning of the pandemic.
