Preakness thread

Who’s going and who’s not…
Most of the Derby field seems to have been scared off, and could you blame them with a performance like that from Big Brown. Harty says Col John won’t go, Adriano will skip it, Tagg is going elsewhere with Tale of Ekati and Big Truck, Denis of Cork will wait for the Belmont.
Any others?

Likely fresh horses that BB will run into at Pimlico are the Lexington winner, Behindthebar, fellow Pletcher trainee Harlem Rocker, Kentucky Bear who was 3rd in the Bluegrass and California horse Yankee Bravo.
Of those, the most likely “Bernardini” spoiler among them is probably Harlem Rocker, a Stronach horse that is/was being aimed at the Canadian Triple Crown races and was an impressive winner of the Withers at Aqueduct a couple of weeks ago.

Who else is or isn’t expected to show up at the gate in the Preakness?

They said on our local news last night in Baltimore that the only other Derby horse considering a run in the Preakness besides Big Brown is possibly Recapturetheglory. All the rest have made other plans.

Baltimore Sun 5-6-08 “Dutrow paints less-rosy picture; Big Brown’s trainer says winning next two, Crown far from easy”

“I like five weeks, 40 days between races,” Dutrow said. "I like to train a horse for a race. When this horse goes into the race the right way, with good timing and all, I don’t see anybody beating him. But it’s not happening. He’s got to come right back off a huge, huge race. I can’t stand it, but it doesn’t matter because we’ve got to do it. I am kind of worried about it.

“I know it looks like he’s the best horse, but he’s going to have to show he’s great in the next five weeks. I don’t see that he’s beaten a great Derby field, not like Secretariat did. That Secretariat field was the best crop I’ve seen in my lifetime and he took them to the cleaners every time.”

The field of confirmed and possibles:

The field:

Horse // Trainer // Last race // Result // Status

1 Behindatthebar // Todd Pletcher // Grade II Lexington Stakes // Won // Definite
2 Big Brown // Rick Dutrow // Grade I Kentucky Derby // Won // Definite
3 El Gato Malo // Dallas Craig // Grade I Santa Anita Derby // Fifth // Definite
4 Giant Moon // Richard Schenberg // Grade I Wood Memorial // Fourth // Definite
5 Harlem Rocker // Todd Pletcher // Grade III Withers // Won // Possible/probable
6 Kentucky Bear // Reade Baker // Grade I Blue Grass Stakes // Third // Definite
7 Macho Again // Dallas Stewart // Derby Trial // Won // Doubtful
8 Recapturetheglory // Louie Roussel // Grade I Kentucky Derby // Fifth // Possible
9 Stevil // Nick Zito // Grade I Blue Grass Stakes // Fourth // Definite
10 Tres Borrachos // C.B.Greely // Grade II Arkansas Derby // Third // Definite
11 Yankee Bravo // Patrick Gallagher // Grade I Santa Anita Derby // Fourth // Definite

Stevil has yet to do anything that impresses me… I think “turtle” was an accurate description of him by his owner. :lol:

I wonder what happened with Atoned… I thought the Dogwood folks were all gung-ho about starting in the Preakness despite his performance in the Coolmore Lexington.

El Gato Malo will go to the Lone Star Derby…

http://www.drf.com/news/article/94315.html

I think I’ll be rooting for Harlem Rocker (since I never bet on the favorite lol. Doesn’t make sense I know!).

Big brown is a nice horse and I think he’ll easily take the Preakness, but I don’t think he’ll be our next Triple Crown winner… I just don’t think he’s the one this year.

[QUOTE=Texarkana;3193030]
I wonder what happened with Atoned… I thought the Dogwood folks were all gung-ho about starting in the Preakness despite his performance in the Coolmore Lexington.[/QUOTE]

According to Dogwood’s website, Atoned might run next in the Ohio Derby on May 31. I thought they were thinking about the Preakness for him and possibly the Belmont for Blackberry Road. :confused:

What about that new horse Bob Baffert recently got? I can’t remember his name, but he showed a lot of speed in one of the Derby prep races. Seems like he might have a decent shot at the Preakness.

[QUOTE=ravenclaw;3194530]
According to Dogwood’s website, Atoned might run next in the Ohio Derby on May 31. I thought they were thinking about the Preakness for him and possibly the Belmont for Blackberry Road. :confused:[/QUOTE]

Ah, thanks! I missed that!

What about that new horse Bob Baffert recently got? I can’t remember his name, but he showed a lot of speed in one of the Derby prep races. Seems like he might have a decent shot at the Preakness.

Samba Rooster… he’s not Triple Crown nominated, so they’d have to pay to supplement him. I think I read they shipped him to TX for the Lone Star Derby this weekend. I know I read something about him lately. Let me see if I can find the link.

Here’s the scoop on Samba Rooster:

http://www.drf.com/news/article/94320.html

Samba Rooster gets blinkers, Gomez

Samba Rooster is the probable favorite for the Lone Star Derby off his Lexington effort April 19, for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 97. Garrett Gomez rode the horse that afternoon and has the call for the Lone Star Derby, trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday.

Baffert also said that Samba Rooster will add blinkers on Saturday. Samba Rooster was a private purchase following a runner-up finish in a first-level allowance at Gulfstream Park on March 30. He is a son of Songandaprayer, and he won his maiden at Gulfstream in February.

Oh well I was looking forward to seeing as a dark horse Samba Rooster pop up in the Preakness. He’s still pretty green so I suppose Bob Baffert wants to take it more easy.

Looks like Garrett Gomez will get the same instructions: “no stick to be carried, let him think you’re being runaway by him, and hold the heck on” :smiley:

I think Baffert and connections might have been thinking it just wasn’t worth supplementing the money when there’s an easier spot open…

There’s an article just posted on DRF that says:

Recapturetheglory to run in Preakness

Of course, when I try to open it, I get a database error. Hopefully the link will be fixed soon. But I think the headline says it all.

I’m really happy someone else is running back for the Preakness. I think he has a decent shot. He did much better than I anticipated in the derby. Besides, his connections have a history of pulling a Preakness upset.

Looks like old school training with a possible day-of blowout with Big Brown for the Preakness. When was the last time you heard of that?

DRF 5-7-08 “Dutrow has it all figured out”

excerpt

Dutrow said that, starting Thursday, Big Brown would gallop every day at Churchill, including the morning of May 14, when the colt will be flown to Baltimore. A Tex Sutton charter flight has been scheduled for that afternoon.

Dutrow said he is contemplating a “very minor” blowout for Big Brown at Pimlico, either on May 15 or even the morning of the race.

“It won’t be that Friday,” he said, adding any such move would be less significant than the three-furlong work Big Brown went through on the Thursday before the Derby. “I’m still thinking about what I want to do about that. The main thing is, as long as he’s come out of the race okay, we’re fine. There’s really not a lot of training to do. As long as he stays good, I’m happy. There’s not a lot more to think about.”

Is there a bounce on the way for BB? Even Dutrow admits he can’t keep expecting higher and higher performances without Brown returning to Earth.

Dutrow said he was informed Big Brown earned a minus-1 figure on the Ragozin Sheets - the lower the number, the better the performance - with his Derby victory. “He’s got to react,” he said, meaning he believes the colt will “bounce,” and not run as fast in the Preakness. “He’s not going to run a minus-1 again. But I’m figuring if he runs like a 5, he can still win the race.”

Regarding the shoes and feet:

He said Big Brown was to have his back feet shod with conventional aluminum racing plates that morning. As for the glued-on, acrylic rubber shoes that Big Brown has worn on his front feet for the last several weeks, including in the Derby, Dutrow said: “We’re good there. His feet are fine. Cold, no pulse.”

He added that he would probably have farrier Ian McKinlay “redo him after this race, when we get back to New York. But we’re good now.”

What will Big Brown be given for Morning Line odds?

Pimlico linemaker Frank Carulli let out a big laugh when asked what his morning line might be on Big Brown. The biggest favorites in recent years were Fusaichi Pegasus, 30 cents on the dollar in 2000, and Barbaro, 50 cents on the dollar in 2006. Big Brown, said Carulli, will be set at “below even-money, let’s put it that way.”

Shortest final wagering odds for the Preakness, to this day, in its history: at 10 cents on the dollar - a tie between 1979’s Spectacular Bid and 1948’s Citation

A little off topic perhaps:

Picture of Yankee Bravo anywhere?

Interesting pedigree…maybe for sport horse.

Second dam sire line to Sicambre, sire of Sacramento Song. Don’t usually see that. Plus maybe a little more concentration of other lines descending from Hampton (The Ronald’s, Hyperion, etc.)

Another runner enters the picture … Hey Byrn joins Preakness field:

The prospective field for the Preakness is now nearing the limit of 14 starters with the news that trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. will ship Hey Byrn from his home base at Calder Race Course for the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

“We were looking at the Ohio Derby, but the owner wants to run in the Preakness so that’s where he’ll go,” said Plesa, who trains Hey Byrn for longtime owner Bea Oxenberg.

They will have to find a pilot however:

One thing Plesa does not have lined up yet is a jockey for Hey Byrn in the Preakness.

Maybe they’ll get Anna Napravnik who knows the track well?

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3192425]
7 Macho Again // Dallas Stewart // Derby Trial // Won // Doubtful[/QUOTE]

From “doubtful” to confirmed non-entry for the Preakness, Macho Again will be off to $300,000 Ohio Derby (gr. II) at Thistledown May 31 instead

With his ‘exit’ comes another entry:

Add in recently less then impressive NY-bred ‘Icabad Crane’ and keeping the field at 12 starters with the max being 14.

As to how it works for the Preakness if they are over subscribed:

The Preakness is capped at 14 runners, and while the convoluted earnings rule used to determine an oversubscribed Preakness field is still unlikely to be invoked, the field is far larger than anyone would have imagined just days ago.

If more than 14 horses enter the Preakness on Wednesday, the field is determined thus: The top seven get in based on graded stakes earnings, the next four qualify on earnings in all unrestricted races, and the final three get in based on overall earnings, without restrictions.

Macho Again: Maybe? Yes? No? Maybe.

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3192425]
8 Recapturetheglory // Louie Roussel // Grade I Kentucky Derby // Fifth // Possible[/QUOTE]

And he’s out of the Preaknes. Elevated temps and stubbed toe are the cited reasons for Recapturetheglory’s connections saying they’ll pass on the Preakness afterall.

Not exactly a sprinter so I don’t think he would’ve been too much of a factor.

Sort of off topic, but last Sunday they said on our local news here in Baltimore that Big Brown was coming in on a flight at 8:30 Wed May 7th. I went and looked in the stake barn yesterday and they hadn’t even bedded his stall yet so he clearly isn’t here. Did they mean the 14th?

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3202367]
And he’s out of the Preaknes. Elevated temps and stubbed toe are the cited reasons for Recapturetheglory’s connections saying they’ll pass on the Preakness afterall.

Not exactly a sprinter so I don’t think he would’ve been too much of a factor.[/QUOTE]

How exactly does one detect a pulse in a horse’s toe? The least they could do is put a little effort into coming up with a decent lie, it is a triple crown race afterall.
Any idea if there has ever been another running of the Preakness with only one derby horse in the race? I can’t recall it ever happening before but don’t care enough to look it up! Never mind! It was in the article, I just didn’t read down far enough. I guess I was too baffled by the BS. It was 60 years ago when Citation ran.

[QUOTE=Laurierace;3202384]
I went and looked in the stake barn yesterday and they hadn’t even bedded his stall yet so he clearly isn’t here. Did they mean the 14th?[/QUOTE]

Yep the 14th - as Big Brown is scheduled to train at Churchill Downs today (Sun) and then Mon, Tue and Wed morning. He’ll ship up to Pimlico on Wednesday afternoon and not via UPS - rather via “Tex Sutton” (H E Sutton Forwarding Co.) carrier.

However UPS is now the “exclusive marketing partner” to ‘Big Brown’.Biz Journal of Louisville May 9, 2008 “UPS to continue marketing partnership with Big Brown”

On Friday, the Atlanta-based shipper announced that it has entered into a marketing agreement with jockey Kent Desormeaux and Big Brown’s ownership group, International Equine Acquisitions Holdings Inc.

Financial terms of the agreement, which makes UPS “The exclusive marketing partner” for Big Brown, were not disclosed.