BALTIMORE – Given that he has so many owners, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Always Dreaming competing under a different set of jockey’s silks every time he runs.
But the pale yellow-green silks of MeB Stables will continue to be the only ones the colt carries.
BALTIMORE – Leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Hence was something of a “wise guy” horse, which made his trainer, Steve Asmussen, cringe. The trainer is a big believer in the Mush factor, a reference to Eddie Mush, a racetrack degenerate in the 1993 movie “A Bronx Tale.”
Mush – gullible and colorful but mostly just obnoxious – was the personification of bad luck at the track. As the legend goes, the real-life Eddie Montanaro got his nickname because everything he touched turned to mush.
“You never want the Mushes on your bandwagon,” Asmussen said with a laugh.
BALTIMORE – Until Exaggerator won last year, it had been 23 years since the second-place Derby finisher had won the Preakness. In fact, before then, only two Derby runners-up since 1960 had won, Summer Squall (1990) and Prairie Bayou (1993).
Lookin At Lee, second to Always Dreaming in the Derby when dismissed at 33-1, will try to make it two in a row.
BALTIMORE – Ten years later, the excitement of the Preakness still resonates with Steve Asmussen.
It was on May 20, 2007, that Curlin, trained by Asmussen, ranged up alongside Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense deep in the Pimlico stretch before poking his chestnut head in front just before the wire. On the video replay, the win margin is barely discernible.
The Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes at Saratoga has been renamed the H. Allen Jerkens, honoring the iconic Hall of Fame trainer who died in 2015, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday.
The King’s Bishop, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds, will be run Aug. 26 on the same card as the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes. The 40-day Saratoga meet runs from July 21-Sept. 4.
BALTIMORE -- The champion may have been knocked down a couple of times this season, but he’s coming back for more.
Classic Empire, the 2-year-old champion of 2016, has had a star-crossed 3-year-old campaign. He managed to win the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby after a roller-coaster winter and spring. Following a difficult trip when fourth to Always Dreaming in the Kentucky Derby on May 6, Classic Empire will be one of nine expected challengers to face Always Dreaming in the Preakness.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Tyler Gaffalione widened his lead over Edgard Zayas in the jockey standings to 46-38 with a pair of victories on Sunday’s card. Emisael Jaramillo also had a double on Mother’s Day to increase his lock on third place to 28-20 over Luca Panici. Miguel Vasquez rounds out the top five ahead of Wednesday’s card.
Marco Meneses also rode a pair of winners Sunday – Hold That Kitten and Bella Sunrise, both trained by Luis Duco.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gun Runner, gearing up for the June 17 Stephen Foster Handicap, had his second breeze since returning from his runner-up finish behind Arrogate in the March 25 Dubai World Cup, going an easy half-mile Monday in 51 seconds at Churchill. The 4-year-old colt is owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm.
“He looks so good when you let him stretch his legs a little bit,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “He’s an amazingly impressive horse … I honestly believe he’s just getting better.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Greg Foley had such a rough winter at Fair Grounds in New Orleans that at one point, he suspected a spell had been cast on his barn.
“I thought somebody had turned Miss Rudolph loose on us or something,” Foley joked, referring to the old Richard Pryor bit.
