Verraco, who finished fourth in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Racecourse on April 18, is a candidate for the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 16, trainer Jim Cassidy said.
Verraco was beaten 9 1/2 lengths by Whiskey Ticket in his stakes debut.
“He needed that race back there,” Cassidy said.
A final decision on whether Verraco is sent to Maryland will be made following Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
“It depends on how the Derby runs and who may go in there,” Cassidy said.
Jose Corrales won his biggest race as a trainer last week when Bodhisattva pulled away in the stretch of the $100,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico.
The Tesio is the final stakes for 3-year-olds in Maryland prior to the Preakness, but Corrales, who also owns Bodhisattva, is a realist, and he will only run there if he thinks the horse belongs.
“I don’t want to be a dreamer,” Corrales said Wednesday. “I want to run my horses where I think I can be in the first three. To run just to run means nothing to me. I want to run and make money.”
STICKNEY, Ill. – There are the American Pharoahs of the equine world, natural stars who flash their talent long before their racing careers actually commence, and then, similarly rare, are horses like Whiskey Ticket, who fool their handlers, showing less during training than in actual racing.
Bob Baffert doesn’t get fooled very often, but Whiskey Ticket has been nothing but a surprise so far. He was nearly 15-1 in his career debut March 19 at Santa Anita. Baffert had two others in the race, and Martin Pedroza, rarely used by the Baffert stable, was aboard Whiskey Ticket.
STICKNEY, Ill. – It was the race in which Cross the Line finished worst that showed he might be a really good colt.
Two wins, two seconds, and a third, a stakes victory in his first start outside of the maiden ranks, and a troubled second in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby – that was Cross the Line’s résumé, all compiled over a Tapeta surface, when he shipped south and raced two weekends ago to make his dirt debut in the Santa Anita Derby.
STICKNEY, Ill. – When it comes to the 3-year-old crop of 2015, the West is best. California-based American Pharoah and Dortmund will be the top two choices in the Kentucky Derby, while Firing Line, who romped last out in the Sunland Derby, will come in for some support, and perhaps three other California-based horses – One Lucky Dane, Bolo, and Ocho Ocho Ocho – are prospective Derby starters.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mr. Jordan and Competitive Edge were two of the fastest 2-year-olds in the country last season, both undefeated and relatively untested before being sidelined with injuries. But something will have to give when they launch their 3-year-old campaigns in Friday’s $60,000 Tamarac, an overnight stakes carded at seven furlongs.
The Maryland Jockey Club on Wednesday afternoon released a 21-race stakes schedule for the Pimlico spring meet that will offer total purses of more than $4.2 million. Two Preakness weekend bonus programs for owners and trainers were also announced.
The $1.5 million Preakness, second jewel of the Triple Crown, will be run May 16, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. Seven supporting stakes have been scheduled for the Preakness undercard.
How the 2014 Preakness unfolded Saturday, May 17, at Churchill Downs:
Photo by John Bambury
California Chrome breaks alertly from the gate while Social Inclusion is gathered a bit. Bayern, from post 5 is solidly bumped by Ria Antonia to his outside. 
BALTIMORE – As soon as the gate opened, the 139th Preakness was a battle of tactics and wits as much as a test of raw speed. The field was loaded with potential front-runners, and the jockeys neither wanted to let a formidable rival steal away nor get involved in a suicidal early duel. “There were a lot of things going on,” said California Chrome’s jockey, Victor Espinoza. “I got more tired mentally than physically.”
BALTIMORE – California Chrome emerged from his win in the Preakness Stakes tired but otherwise fine, trainer Art Sherman said Sunday morning here at Pimlico, where California Chrome will remain for a few more days before heading to Belmont Park and a bid for a Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
“I’m going to let him unwind,” Sherman said outside the stakes barn. “He’ll go to Belmont on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
