ELMONT, N.Y. - On the day it was announced he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that he will take a shot in one of the few major races he has yet to win, as Unbridled Honor will run in the Preakness Stakes.

Unbridled Honor, a son of Honor Code owned and bred by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, has one win from five starts. He finished fourth in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in March and, most recently, was second to King Fury in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.

Thoroughbreds are often evaluated on paper – on how those black-and-white squares of past performances and Beyer Speed Figures and statistics line up against their foes. But intangible things also can elevate a horse. And if that quality known as heart – the will to win when the chips are down – can be found in a scrutiny of bloodlines, then Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has come by his honestly.

Concert Tour, who skipped the Kentucky Derby after a disappointing third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby, will run in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes on May 15 at Pimlico, setting up a match with stablemate Medina Spirit, the Derby winner, their trainer, Bob Baffert, said Monday afternoon.

Mike Smith will ride Concert Tour, both Baffert and Smith’s agent, Brad Pegram, said Tuesday. Smith replaces Joel Rosario, who had ridden Concert Tour in all four of his previous starts.

Tex Sutton, the dominant equine air-transport company in the U.S., is anticipating a service disruption beginning next week due to its ongoing efforts to secure a new lease for a cargo plane, the company’s president said on Monday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As of Tuesday morning, at least 10 3-year-olds are under consideration for the May 15 Preakness in Baltimore, with the victorious Medina Spirit among three Kentucky Derby starters whose connections are talking about wheeling back two weeks later in the second jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.

Trainer Brad Cox told Steve Byk on his Sirius radio show that Essential Quality, fourth as the favorite in the Derby, would bypass the Preakness.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Concert Tour, third last out in the Arkansas Derby, has been training at Churchill Downs in his yellow Kentucky Derby saddle towel, and while trainer Bob Baffert decided shortly after the Arkansas Derby that Concert Tour would pass the Derby, the colt still is bound for a Triple Crown race.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Though Crowded Trade put in a sharp workout Saturday morning at Belmont Park, trainer Chad Brown said afterward the horse remains on target for the Preakness on May 15 and he still plans to run Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Highly Motivated in the Kentucky Derby.

Highly Motivated is scheduled to breeze Sunday at Keeneland before vanning over to Churchill Downs on Monday.

“As long as Highly Motivated works well and comes out of it well on Monday, I’m going to ship him over to Churchill,” Brown said Saturday at Belmont Park.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Danny Velazquez said that Brooklyn Strong, his stakes-winning 3-year-old gelding who finished fifth in the Wood Memorial on April 3, is targeting the Preakness on May 15 at Pimlico. Over the weekend, Velazquez and Brooklyn Strong’s owner Mark Schwartz were planning to decide whether to run in the Federico Tesio at Pimlico next Saturday beforehand.

Pimlico Race Course will run 16 stakes on the two race cards featuring the $1 million Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes this year, the track announced on Thursday, with total purses of $3.25 million.

Ten of the stakes will be run on Preakness Day, May 15, while the other six will be run on May 14, topped by the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan. Both stakes races and their complementary race cards were delayed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and run in early October, without spectators.

Laurel Park in Maryland will offer $2.65 million in purses for 24 stakes during its winter schedule this year, including two stakes that will offer the winners automatic berths in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes and Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at its sister track, Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

The stakes schedule is headlined by the Grade 3 General George and the Grade 3 Runhappy Fritchie Stakes, both offering $250,000 in purses and scheduled for Feb. 13. The same card will include three $100,000 stakes.