Preakness S.

As the founder and CEO of MyRacehorse.com, Michael Behrens dreamt about days like this, winning a race at the highest level. So when Seize the Grey (Arrogate) crossed the wire first in the GI Preakness S., Behrens felt like he was living a dream. But so did the 2,570 individuals who invested in Seize the Grey, buying micro shares in the 3-year-old colt. And no doubt, so did the 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas, who keeps making the statement that age truly is nothing more than a number....

The freakish vitality and durability of his trainer stands in poignant contrast to the posthumous legacies entwined by the success of Seize the Grey in the GI Preakness S. Most obviously, as colleague Jill Williams highlights in her Saturday Sires series, the industry has been given fresh cause to lament the premature loss of Arrogate. For the family and friends of Seize the Grey's breeder, however, Saturday was a more intensely personal cue to honor the memory of Audrey "Tolie" Otto, barely a year after her passing. Otto's stable, Jamm...

When Mugatu (Blofeld) makes his way onto the track in the morning, it's hard to look away. The imposing chestnut colt with the unique blaze that spans across his forehead before trickling down to just above his nostrils has a presence that makes you pay attention. And when he moves across the track, it's easy to understand why he was the one that Dan Preiss sought out on the final day of the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training sale. After receiving a call from trainer Jeff...

Zedan Racing Stables' 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) has been withdrawn from Saturday's GI Preakness S. after spiking a temperature following his arrival into Pimlico late Tuesday. "We are sick about this. The horse had been doing really well," trainer Bob Baffert told the Pimlico media office. "But we have to do what's right by the horse." Runner-up to fellow 'Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the $190,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $2-million OBS March topper came off the bench to win...

Having arrived on a van from Louisville on Sunday, GI Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents) took to a sloppy and sealed main track at Pimlico Race Course for the first time Monday morning. If the bay looked at home in the wet conditions, it should come as no surprise. Prior to his narrow success in the Derby, his career highlight came in the Feb. 3 GIII Southwest S., when he relished a muddy strip to crush by eight lengths. "He's such a smart horse. He takes everything in," said...

Albaugh Family Stable's Catching Freedom (Constitution) is being considered for a start in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico a week from Saturday, Jason Loutsch, co-owner and racing manager for the operation, told the Pimlico media office. Settled far off the strong early pace of the GI Kentucky Derby by Flavien Prat, the $575,000 Keeneland September yearling made a long run into contention, sneaking through inside in upper stretch before staying on into fourth, beaten two lengths behind the three-horse photo. Loutsch said the GII Louisiana Derby winner, trained by...

The field for Saturday's GIII Peter Pan S. at Aqueduct has been reduced from eight to six, with the connections of both 'TDN Rising Star' Tuscan Gold (Medaglia d'Oro) and Lonesome Boy (Nationhood) opting for other age-restricted spots. Daily Racing Form's David Grening was first to report the news. William Lawrence, Walmac Farm and Stonestreet Stables' Tuscan Gold is being rerouted for next Saturday's GI Preakness S., trainer Chad Brown confirmed to the Form. The $600,000 Keeneland September yearling was fourth to stablemate and recent GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra...

According to an article written by Pamela Wood of The Balitmore Banner on Wednesday, Apr. 3, Churchill Downs Inc. has made an "overture" to buy Pimlico, the Home of the Preakness Stakes. The report says the information comes from two unnamed sources in the Maryland state capital familiar with the negotiations. Wood writes that one of the sources said Churchill has been lobbying to derail a bill in the state legislature that's necessary for the state ownership deal to go through. The article says that representatives of Churchill Downs did...

'The Week in Review', by T.D. Thornton A few items that stand out after sifting through Friday's "Pimlico Plus" report issued by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA). The ambitious $400-million plan, which is subject to legislative approval, re-imagines the state's racing consolidated at one publicly funded track in Baltimore, the closure of Laurel Park, the construction of a new training facility in the state, and 1/ST Racing and Gaming ceding control of day-to-day Maryland racing to a non-profit entity. Triple Crown traditionalists who are already in a tizzy...

Trainer Thomas L. "Lou" Rondinello, winner of the 1974 GI Belmont S., passed away Nov. 27 at the age of 95 according to a release issued Friday by the NYRA Communications Office. Among Rondinello's leading runners was Eclipse champion 3-year-old colt Little Current (Sea-Bird) who took the last two of the three legs of the 1974 Triple Crown series after coming fifth in the GI Kentucky Derby. He also trained 1978 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Tempest Queen (Graustark). In training for Darby Dan Farm, Rondinello topped over $8.6m in earnings...

It was an era of controversial stewards' calls, late money affecting the odds before the break, and tracks facing increasing financial pressure from government. It was a time when criticism of short field sizes was rampant, breeding operations continued to take risks on untested sires, and when sugar horses--those who didn't run often in order to preserve their stamina--were seemingly everywhere. If that wasn't enough, the age witnessed the rise of the Kentucky Derby as an increasingly highly commercialized party, as debates raged over when Pimlico's Preakness Stakes should run....

There's no easy fix for the Triple Crown or one that satisfies all three tracks. But a fix is needed. With most trainers reluctant to run their horses back on just two weeks' rest, the GI Preakness S. is reeling. The connections of Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the GI Kentucky Derby winner, committed what would have been considered blasphemy 20 years ago and skipped the Preakness to rest up for the GI Belmont S. This year, Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) was the only Derby starter to run back in...