Preakness: Who’s in, out, and on the fence – theracingbiz.com

Wholl wear the Black-Eyed Susans this year? Photo by Allison Janezic.

With Preakness 145 less than a month away, the race, contested this year as the final leg of a Triple Crown that will take nearly four months from beginning to end, has the potential to be quite a clash.

Trainer Bob Baffert has said he plans to bring both Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and Shared Belief Stakes winner Thousand Words to Baltimore.

His two stars had distinctly different Kentucky Derby experiences. Authentic, under John Velazquez, led throughout in the Derby and then fended off heavy favorite Tiz the Law to give Baffert his sixth Derby triumph. Following the race, in the infield winners circle, he wheeled around, sending people scattering and knocking his trainer to the ground.

Thousand Words, on the other hand, had his tough to handle moment prior to the race, when he reared up and came down on his side. In the process, he broke assistant trainer Jimmy Barness hand, and he had to be scratched. Following the race, veterinarian Dr. Kathy Anderson said the horse was absolutely fine: cleared for service with not a scratch upon him, she said.

Runner-up Tiz the Law had entered the Derby with the aura of invincibility. He had won the first leg of the upside-down Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, with consummate ease and followed that up with a Travers score that proved the 1 miles of the Derby were well within his scope.

But by days end, hed suffered just the second loss of his career both, oddly enough, at Churchill Downs.

Now the question is whether hell post in Baltimore. Owner Jack Knowlton of Sackatoga has said hes enthusiastic about the race, but trainer Barclay Tagg has indicated hed prefer not to run in both the Preakness and the November 7 Breeders Cup Classic at Keeneland. How theyll square the circle remains to be seen.

Derby show horse Mr. Big News also is planning on a Baltimore sojourn. The Bret Calhoun trainee off at 46-1, longer odds than all but three other horses made a huge run to reach contention rounding the far turn before flattening out a bit in the lane. Still, he significantly outran his odds and, as the winner of the Oaklawn Stakes, already had his Preakness bid sewn up.

Three other horses whod been Derby hopeful but had been forced, for a variety of seemingly minor reasons, to scratch, also are eyeing the Preakness. Art Collector, the Ellis Park Derby winner, the lightly raced King Guillermo, and Finnick the Fierce all are considering the race.

Heres the full list of whos in, out, and on the fence:

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Preakness: Who's in, out, and on the fence - theracingbiz.com