ELMONT, N.Y. – Bourbon War will wear blinkers for the first time in a race when he starts in the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes on May 18.
Bourbon War, most recently fourth to Maximum Security in the Florida Derby, had his fourth workout in blinkers on Thursday, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.91 over Belmont Park’s main track. The blinkers are a thin cup.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Heavy favorites have been a staple of recent runnings of the Preakness, so the prospect of a mostly fresh slate for the 144th running on May 18 at Pimlico in Baltimore has given at least one insider a glass-half-full outlook.
“At least it looks like a good betting race this year,” said Keith Feustle, who will compose the Pimlico morning line for the second jewel of the Triple Crown for the sixth straight year.
Attorneys for the owner of Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore have asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit by the city that seeks to obtain ownership of the track and its signature race, the Preakness Stakes.
The motion to dismiss, filed by an attorney for Pimlico’s owner, The Stronach Group, states that the city has no right to condemn the track, due in part to existing state regulations that grant the power of regulation and control over horse racing to the state of Maryland.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – While the second jewel of the Triple Crown takes on a far different look than the first, a fourth Kentucky Derby holdover surfaced Wednesday as a good possibility to run in the May 18 Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore while one of the would-be “new shooters” dropped out.
Kentucky Derby winner Country House will not run in the Preakness Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico, trainer Bill Mott said Tuesday, after Country House started to show signs of becoming ill at Churchill Downs, where he has remained following his Derby victory on Saturday.
“He developed a little bit of a cough this morning,” Mott said by telephone. “His appetite is good. He doesn’t have a fever. But he’s coughing. We drew blood. He’s acting like he's going to get sick. He’s off the training list, and if he’s off the training list he’s off the Preakness list.
Jose Ortiz will ride Anothertwistafate in the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, on May 18 at Pimlico, trainer Blaine Wright said Tuesday.
Anothertwistafate most recently finished second in the Lexington Stakes on April 13 at Keeneland behind Owendale, who also is bound for the Preakness. Javier Castellano rode him that day for the first time, replacing his initial rider, Juan Hernandez, who was aboard Anothertwistafate when he finished second to Cutting Humor in the Sunland Park Derby and when he won the El Camino Real Derby.
When it became evident that Bourbon War wasn’t going to make it into the body of the Kentucky Derby field, his connections began leaning toward starting him in Saturday’s Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.
After they watched the results of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, his connections made a change of plans. Now, Bourbon War is headed to the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In the moments immediately following the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, trainer Bill Mott said his thoughts were of how well his colts Country House and Tacitus had run, and he figured they’d both be bound for the Belmont Stakes next.
An official for The Stronach Group said on Monday afternoon that the company still plans to hold the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore next year despite the closure of the north end of the track’s grandstand due to “the deterioration and degradation of the building.”
The winner of the inaugural Oaklawn Invitational for 3-year-olds on May 4 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., will receive a free berth into the Preakness Stakes, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday.
The Preakness Stakes – the second leg of the Triple Crown - will be run May 18 at Pimlico Race Course.
