Tue, 01/31/2023 - 15:22

Nine stakes planned for 2023 Preakness card

Justin Lane
Early Voting gives his sire, Gun Runner, a first-crop Classic winner.

Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore will run nine stakes races on May 20, the day of the Preakness Stakes, the track announced Tuesday, and hold another six stakes, including the Black-Eyed Susan, on the day prior.

The 15 stakes will have total purses of $3.5 million, including $1.5 million for the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, the middle leg of the Triple Crown. On the same day of the Preakness, Pimlico will hold eight other stakes, four of them Grade 3 races – the $200,000 Dinner Party, the $200,000 Chick Lang, the $100,000 Gallorette, and the $100,000 Maryland Sprint Stakes.

Mon, 05/23/2022 - 13:26

Airdrie sires enjoying strong Triple Crown

Emily Shields
Creative Minister, by the Airdire sire Creative Cause, finished third in the Preakness last Saturday.

Creative Minister, by Creative Cause, continued a solid spring for the Airdrie Stud stallion roster as he finished third in the Preakness Stakes.

Grade 1 winner Creative Cause, third in the 2012 Preakness, entered stud at the Jones family’s Airdrie in 2013. The son of Giant’s Causeway is also the sire of Grade 1 winner Pavel and graded stakes winners Identifier, My Boy Jack, Significant Form, and Skyler’s Scramjet.

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Mon, 05/23/2022 - 13:26

Early Voting adds a classic victory to granddam Silken Cat's achievements

Barbara D. Livingston
Preakness winner Early Voting (above) is a grandson of the mare Silken Cat, who produced sprint champion and sire Speightstown.

Canadian champions who have gone on to be successful broodmares continued to make an impact on this spring’s Triple Crown series, as Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting extended the legacy of his granddam, the late Silken Cat.

Early Voting is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Amour d’Ete, whose dam is Quebec-bred Silken Cat. A late Storm Cat mare, Silken Cat earned a Sovereign Award as a Canadian champion and went on to produce Eclipse Award champion Speightstown.

Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:20

Gun Runner's meteoric rise continues with Early Voting

Justin Lane
Early Voting gives his sire, Gun Runner, a first-crop Classic winner.

BALTIMORE – Preakness Stakes victor Early Voting continued the remarkable ascent into North America’s elite sires for Horse of the Year Gun Runner, who now has an American classic winner to boast from his record-setting first crop.

Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:10

Preakness: No rest for Ortiz following momentous victory

Barbara Livingston
Jose Ortiz is all smiles after guiding Early Voting to a front-running win in the Preakness.

There was no time for celebration for jockey Jose Ortiz, who won his first Preakness Stakes on Saturday aboard Early Voting at Pimlico. Following the post-race interview session and a shower, Ortiz and his family jumped in the car and drove back to New York, getting home around 1 a.m. Sunday.

“I guess my adrenaline was high because I didn’t get sleepy and when I got home I couldn’t fall asleep,” Ortiz, 29, said Sunday morning. “Everything was sinking in last night when I got to bed. It was very emotional because this is what we work for and to get it done is amazing.”

Sun, 05/22/2022 - 09:57

Early Voting to skip Belmont, points to Travers

Barbara D. Livingston
Early Voting received a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory in the Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico.

BALTIMORE – Early Voting headed out of Pimlico early Sunday morning, the Preakness Stakes victory safely tucked away, and with major races this summer his next goals, trainer Chad Brown said Sunday.

Brown, as he intimated Saturday right after the Preakness, said Early Voting would not run in the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown on June 11 in New York. Brown said he would instead be pointed to the Travers Stakes on Aug. 27 at Saratoga, with a prep in either the Jim Dandy at Saratoga on July 30 or the Haskell at Monmouth on July 23.

Sat, 05/21/2022 - 21:08

Preakness betting declines 5 percent over last year

Barbara D. Livingston
The size of Saturday's crowd at Pimlico for Preakness Day was most likely affected by a heat wave that sent temperatures into the 90s.

Betting on Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore was down 5 percent compared to the record wagering on the race last year, according to charts of the races. The decline was most likely due to the absence both of this year’s Kentucky Derby winner and the intense publicity surrounding the second leg of the Triple Crown last year.

Sat, 05/21/2022 - 20:46

'It was our fault' Asmussen says of Epicenter's runner-up Preakness finish

Debra A. Roma
Early Voting (left) leads Epicenter in Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

BALTIMORE - In the Kentucky Derby, it was shock. In Saturday’s Preakness, it was disappointment.

Trainer Steve Asmussen left Pimlico on Saturday evening bitterly disappointed after Epicenter, surprisingly second-to-last through the opening half-mile, rallied to finish second, 1 1/4 lengths behind Early Voting in Saturday’s 147th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Sat, 05/21/2022 - 19:25

A fresh Early Voting holds off favored Epicenter to win Preakness

Barbara D. Livingston
Early Voting, who skipped the Kentucky Derby, wins the Preakness under Jose Ortiz on Saturday at Pimlico.

BALTIMORE – Once again, the wait was worth it.

For the second time in a five-year span, trainer Chad Brown and owner Seth Klarman decided to pass on the Kentucky Derby with a horse eligible to the race, believing lack of experience would be betrayed, and that sitting tight for the Preakness Stakes two weeks later was a more prudent option.

Sat, 05/21/2022 - 19:14

Preakness 2022 results and payouts

Emily Shields
Early Voting, with jockey Jose Ortiz up, wins the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Results and payouts from the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes on May 21, 2022, at Pimlico, won by Early Voting.

5  Early Voting – $13.40 / $4.60 / $3.60

8  Epicenter – $2.80 / $2.40

2  Creative Minister – $4.20

4  Secret Oath

9  Skippylongstocking

1  Simplification

7  Armagnac

6  Happy Jack

3  Fenwick