LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mr. Big News, whose third-place finish at 46-1 in the Kentucky Derby blew up the exotic-wagering payoffs, is a candidate to run back in the Preakness, although trainer Bret Calhoun stopped short Monday of fully committing the colt to the Oct. 3 race at Pimlico.
“We’re definitely considering it, but we won’t make a final decision for a couple of weeks,” said Calhoun.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In the aftermath of another eventful Kentucky Derby, a large field is taking shape for the final leg of the 2020 Triple Crown, the Oct. 3 Preakness at Pimlico.
Authentic, winner of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, is foremost on a list of at least 15 3-year-olds deemed anywhere from definite to possible to contest the $1 million race at the historic Baltimore track. The connections of the Derby runner-up, Tiz the Law, are mulling whether to run in the Preakness or wait instead for the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Art Collector, the standout colt who was declared from consideration for the Kentucky Derby with a minor setback four days before the race was held Saturday at Churchill Downs, already has resumed serious training and is being pointed to the Oct. 3 Preakness at Pimlico, according to trainer Tommy Drury.
Drury said Monday from his primary base at the Skylight training center just east of Louisville that Art Collector resumed galloping Saturday after being cleared to resume training.
Mystic Guide came out of his half-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy a little tired but otherwise in good shape, trainer Mike Stidham said Sunday. While Stidham said he will strongly consider the $1 million Preakness on Oct. 3 for Mystic Guide’s next start, he stopped short of committing the colt to the race.
“If the race makes sense we’ll go there,” Stidham said Sunday afternoon. “It’s not a must-run-in race, it’s a race we'll look at and if the race make sense for the horse we’ll do it.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The dreams of making the Kentucky Derby with Mystic Guide were pretty much dashed after a lackluster performance in the Peter Pan Stakes here seven weeks ago. But in this crazy year, there is still time for Mystic Guide to be a factor in a 3-year-old classic race.
Mystic Guide likely punched his ticket to the $1 million Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3 after a last-to-first, three-quarter-length victory over Liveyourbeastlife in Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga.
Preakness Weekend preps in September?
You bet.
The unconventional racing calendar of 2020 continues Monday at Laurel Park, where the $100,000 Federico Tesio will award its winner a berth into the $1 million Preakness Stakes, which has been rescheduled for Oct. 3 at Pimlico.
This year, it’s the third leg of the Triple Crown.
The rescheduled Preakness Stakes at Baltimore Race Course on Oct. 3 will be run spectator-free, the track’s parent company confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
The Preakness, which will be the third leg of the Triple Crown this year, anchors the third of three live racing days scheduled for Pimlico Oct. 1-3. With the announcement that the event will be held without spectators, all three Triple Crown races this year will take place without any fans in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, historically run in recent years on the day before the Preakness Stakes, will instead be run on the same card as the Preakness this year, according to a stakes schedule distributed by Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Wednesday.
According to the schedule, the Oct. 3 Preakness card will feature 12 races, all of them stakes and seven of them graded. This year, the Preakness is the third leg of the Triple Crown, scheduled one month after the re-scheduled Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
The 2020 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore has been rescheduled to Oct. 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, who made the announcement during a Preakness-themed broadcast on Saturday afternoon, the day the race would have been held this year.
The announcement by Hogan was preceded by a short appearance by Belinda Stronach, the president of The Stronach Group, which owns Pimlico.
The Preakness Stakes, traditionally the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, has yet to be re-scheduled for this season as the coronavirus pandemic continued to upend the Thoroughbred industry and the world at large. However, the race, traditionally a colorful party in Baltimore, will have a different feel this year as The Stronach Group and Maryland Jockey Club announced that the race's accompanying InfieldFest concerts and events will be canceled.
