Uncle Mo, the 2010 2-year-old champion who was scratched from the Kentucky Derby the day before the race due to a yet-to-be diagnosed internal issue, has put on 30 pounds since being moved from Churchill Downs to WinStar Farm on May 9, but there is still no timetable for his return to training or racing.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said Uncle Mo gets turned out four to five hours a day.
PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Contender profiles, news updates, video, and odds >>
BALTIMORE – The Wednesday arrivals of nine Preakness horses led to considerably more activity around the Pimlico stakes barn Thursday morning, as those horses all had their first looks at the track when sent through routine jogs, gallops, and gate schoolings.
PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Contenders, odds, video, and news updates
BALTIMORE – Had his connections wanted to push the envelope, Astrology could have run in this year’s Kentucky Derby. He had sufficient graded stakes earnings, was a stakes winner over the Churchill Downs main track, and ran creditably in his one and only race of his 3-year-old season.
Unlike in prior years here at Pimlico – or at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks and Derby Days – superfectas are available in 10-cent increments on all races, including the Preakness.
Dime supers are part of an extensive Saturday wagering menu that also includes rolling doubles, rolling pick threes, two pick fours, two super high fives, and a pick five, as well as pool guarantees of $250,000 on the first pick four (races 5-8) and $1 million on the pick four ending with the Preakness (races 9-12).
One of the more noticeable differences from the Derby to Preakness is this: Longshots have a far worse chance, at least historically, to win at Pimlico. Whereas big-priced winners have almost become the norm in the Derby – in the last dozen years, bombers such as Charismatic (31-1), Giacomo (50-1), Mine That Bird (50-1), and Animal Kingdom (20-1) have prevailed – the Preakness is about as formful a race as possible.
BALTIMORE – Like every trainer with a horse in the 136th Preakness, Nick Zito and Chris Grove would dearly love to win Saturday at Pimlico with Dialed In and Norman Asbjornson, respectively. But in case they don’t, they can root for each other.
Zito and Grove have formed a bond centered on Grove’s 12-year-old son, Noah, who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2004 and underwent a life-saving, through-the-knee amputation. Although Zito has known about Noah’s condition for quite some time, they met for the first time at the Wednesday post-position draw in the Pimlico infield.
Contenders for the 2011 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, to be run at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore on Saturday, May 21. Odds by DRF national handicapper Mike Watchmaker and Pimlico oddsmaker Frank Carulli. Click a horse's name to view his profile.
BALTIMORE – Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom was assigned post 11 as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Preakness Stakes at the post-position draw for the 136th running of the second jewel of the Triple Crown on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.
A full field of 14 3-year-olds was entered for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, which will be televised on NBC Sports, with post time set for 6:18 p.m. Eastern.
BALTIMORE – Graham Motion has had a few things to do this week. Making raceday accommodations for family and friends. Dodging the raindrops that keep falling at his Fair Hill training base. Saying the right things to the media. And, oh yes, getting a colt named Animal Kingdom ready for the 136th Preakness at Pimlico.
PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Contender profiles, news updates, video, and odds >>
