BALTIMORE – Over the last quarter-century, the Preakness has been the most accurate predictor of which 3-year-old will wind up being named the divisional champion – even more than the Kentucky Derby. Since 1996, 16 of the last 25 Preakness winners have been voted the top 3-year-old that year, and that doesn’t even include Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year and top 3-year-old filly, and Swiss Skydiver, the top 3-year-old filly of 2020.
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One day before Rombauer runs in the Preakness Stakes, his older half-brother Treasure Trove will contest the Grade 3 Pimlico Special.
The 3-year-old Rombauer, by Twirling Candy, and the 5-year-old gelding Treasure Trove, by Tapizar, were both bred in Kentucky by John and Diane Fradkin. They are third-generation products of that program, which began when John Fradkin purchased the Afleet mare Ultrafleet for $10,500 as a yearling in 1993.
Several Maryland-breds, including defending winner Harpers First Ride, will fly the flag for their home state in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on Friday.
Harpers First Ride won the Deputed Testamony last year at Laurel to propel him into the Pimlico Special, which he won last October. He concluded a fine season in his home state by finishing second in the Maryland Million Classic before winning two more stakes at Laurel.
Mandy Pope has spent well over $50 million on broodmares for her Whisper Hill Farm operation in the last nine Novembers at Kentucky’s elite sales. The total purse of Saturday’s Preakness Stakes is $1 million, with $600,000 going to the winning connections. But a victory by Pope’s homebred Unbridled Honor would be priceless.
:: DRF's Preakness Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more
BALTIMORE – On an otherwise quiet morning amidst the chaos hovering over Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, France Go de Ina, the Japanese invader, gave his connections a bit of a scare at the conclusion of his training session Wednesday at Pimlico.
BALTIMORE – The two-day Preakness weekend amounts to a horseplayer’s delight as Pimlico will offer a wide variety of wagers Friday and Saturday.
There’s a two-day double linking the Black-Eyed Susan and the Preakness, along with a slew of multi-race wagers ending Friday with the Black-Eyed Susan and Saturday with the Preakness. And there’s always the multitude of vertical wagers, including superfectas available in 10-cent increments.
BALTIMORE – D. Wayne Lukas has been coming to Pimlico for the Preakness for more than 40 years, so he’s not concerned with what people think about him running a horse that’s sure to be the longest shot in the field Saturday.
“I don’t have to stand here and try to prove I can train a horse,” said the 85-year-old Hall of Famer. “If somebody’s saying, ‘What the hell’s he doing in there with that horse?’ We’re the longshot, we’re dangerous.”
What a fortnight ago appeared to be the pinnacle of Gary Young’s career now has the potential to be added to his lengthy list of crushing disappointments at Churchill Downs. But while the prospect of Medina Spirit being disqualified from the Kentucky Derby is a significant blow, it doesn’t detract from Young’s body of work, including plucking the colt at a 2-year-old sale for $35,000 and seeing him go on to win the Robert Lewis and finish second in the Santa Anita Derby before heading to the Kentucky Derby.
“It’s been an up-and-down week,” Young said earlier this week.
BALTIMORE – Ten 3-year-olds led by Medina Spirit, the controversial first-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, have passed the entry box for the $1 million Preakness Stakes, to be run for the 146th time Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.
Medina Spirit was assigned post 3 for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, while his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Concert Tour got post 10. Medina Spirit, with John Velazquez back to ride, is the 9-5 favorite on the Pimlico morning line issued by Keith Feustle, while Concert Tour (Mike Smith) is the 5-2 second choice.
