Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, will not run in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes and instead will make the $1 million Travers on Aug. 24 at Saratoga his next major objective, owner Rick Porter said Sunday.
Porter said Normandy Invasion would make his next start in either the $600,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga on July 27 or the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 28.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Departing, one of the top threats to Orb in the 138th Preakness Stakes, had his final workout for the race when going a very easy half-mile in 50.40 seconds on a beautiful Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.
Itsmyluckyday trained well coming into the Kentucky Derby, and, according to his trainer and co-owner, Eddie Plesa Jr., he’s been just as good coming out. It’s what happened in between, though, that mattered most, and, unfortunately for those connected to him, Itsmyluckyday did not run to his potential at Churchill Downs, finishing 15th.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Tom Amoss confirmed Mylute as a starter for the 138th Preakness after the gray colt went through a routine gallop well before dawn Saturday over a muddy and harrowed track at Churchill Downs.
Amoss said he is satisfied with how Mylute came out of his fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and that after consulting with the colt’s owners, they have agreed to run in the Preakness, which is set for next Saturday, May 18, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Editor’s note: The eighth season of Countdown to the Crown returns as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 4 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates, opinions and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
Straight from the gate
After I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby last year, he was sent from Churchill Downs to Pimlico less than 48 hours later to prepare for the Preakness Stakes, a race he also won.
Doug O’Neill, who trained I’ll Have Another, is following the same pattern this year with Goldencents, with one major difference – he’s heading into the Preakness attempting to stop a Triple Crown bid, not keep one alive.
Gary Stevens came of age as a professional jockey about as far away from Baltimore as you can get and still be standing somewhere on dry land in the Lower Forty-Eight. Even so, as a young rider in such Northwestern outposts as Seattle, Yakima, and Coeur d’Alene he indulged himself more than once in the fantasy of being on a contender in the Preakness Stakes.
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Field for the 2013 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 18, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Click horse name to view contender profile and past race replays. MORE: Get Preakness PPs, watch video previews, read latest updates »
Purse: $1,000,000; 1 3/16 miles
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas has named Mike Smith to ride Will Take Charge and Julien Leparoux on Titletown Five for the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 18.
Smith, who rode Palace Malice in the Kentucky Derby, will replace Jon Court, who had been aboard Will Take Charge in six of his eight starts. Will Take Charge finished eighth in the Derby after having to check at the three-sixteenths pole behind a tiring Verrazano.
