Preakness S.

Ethereal Road (Quality Road) will always be remembered as the horse removed from the 2022 GI Kentucky Derby at the last moment of scratch time, paving the way for an 80-1 longshot to upset America's biggest race. However, on GI Preakness S. Day, he signified he might have something else to say about the 3-year-old picture this year. With stablemate Secret Oath (Arrogate) Preakness-bound after her GI Kentucky Oaks win, Ethereal Road was routed to the undercard Sir Barton S. at Pimlico and looked like a world-beater as he dodged...

Roughly 12 hours before his peers were set to take to the Pimlico main track for the GI Preakness S., RED-TR Racing's GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) returned to the worktab, breezing a half-mile in a strong :47.20. With rider Gabe Lagunes in the irons, the chestnut broke off aggressively with an opening quarter-mile in :22.80 and he galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60. Immediately following his stunning 80-1 upset beneath the Twin Spires, connections fully intended on pressing on to the Preakness, but it was announced...

Though he said NYRA is willing to be part of a dialogue involving changing the dates of the Triple Crown races, a hot topic since GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted out of the GI Preakness S., NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke has made it clear that the racing organization has no immediate plans to sign off on proposals that would alter the status quo. "We are touching on tradition here," O'Rourke told the TDN Wednesday. "We are touching on the one thing that is sacrosanct...

Winchell Racing's Epicenter (Not This Time), whose runner-up effort in the GI Kentucky Derby May 7 has earned him a quote of 6-5 morning-line favoritism for Saturday's GI Preakness S., was out for a one-mile gallop around the Pimlico main track Wednesday morning under the watchful eye of Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen . "He's traveling really well. It seems like his energy level is good," said Blasi, explaining that Asmussen left the track early to watch horses work at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale at Timonium....

Photographer Patrick Smith and writer Mike MacAdam will be among the honorees at the Alibi Breakfast May 19 at Pimlico Race Course. The Alibi Breakfast features a gathering of media, owners, trainers, jockeys, horsemen and fans to celebrate the Preakness. Smith will receive the Jerry Frutkoff Award for the best Preakness picture of 2021, while MacAdam will receive the David F. Woods Award for best Preakness story. Smith is a staff photographer based in Baltimore for Getty Images. This is his second consecutive win, and third overall in the Frutkoff....

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), who sensationally upended last Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby as the 80-1 longest shot in the field of 20, will bypass the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 21, owner Rick Dawson said Thursday afternoon. "Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the Kentucky Derby--should we not run in the Derby, we would point toward the Preakness, should we run in the Derby, subject to the race outcome and the condition of our horse, we would give him more recovery time and rest and run...

Seven 3-year-olds, headed by recent G2 UAE Derby runner-up Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front), have been supplemented to the 2022 Triple Crown series for a fee of $6,000 prior to the late closing date this past Monday, Mar. 28. Owned by Michael and Negar Burke, Summer Is Tomorrow is a two-time winner from seven starts in Dubai, having won a Feb. 25 allowance by 8 1/4 lengths going seven furlongs prior to his effort in the UAE Derby, in which he set the pace and was run down late by...

Rombauer (Twirling Candy--Cashmere, by Cowboy Cal), who upset Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) and GI Kentucky Derby first past the post Medina Spirit (Protonico) in last year's GI Preakness S., has been retired from racing, according to his owner John Fradkin, who bred and raced the colt in partnership with his wife Diane. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Rombauer was an eye-catching maiden winner at first asking over the Del Mar turf course and finished runner-up when trying dirt for the first time in the GI American Pharoah S. before a creditable fifth...

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil--Expo Gold, by Johannesburg) didn't turn a single hair for the entirety of the five minutes and change that she stood in the ring at Fasig-Tipton November Tuesday evening, and when the dust had settled, the chestnut filly had sold for $4.7 million to the bid of Northern Farm's Shingo Hashimoto. It took just a bit more than the 1:53 required for Swiss Skydiver to win last year's COVID-delayed GI Preakness S. for the bidding to wander into the $3-million territory, with interested parties both inside...

In just a few weeks, champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil - Expo Gold, by Johannesburg) will sell at the Fasig-Tipton 'Night of the Stars' Sale. On an evening heralded for its abundant opportunity, her trip through the ring will be marked with anticipation for what is to come as she begins her broodmare career. But until then, there's just a bit of melancholy for her fans in looking back on her remarkable racing career. What was it, exactly, that made Swiss Skydiver so unforgettable? It could have been her extraordinary toughness...

Medina Spirit (Protonico), unraced since a third-place finish behind Rombauer (Twirling Candy) in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 15, was not among the nominees to the Aug. 29 Shared Belief S., but may be ready for the GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 25, trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday. "There have been rumors about that horse since May 1," Baffert said with a laugh. "There has been a lot of talk about that horse. He's going to breeze this week and I'll know more after that. I go work-by-work with...

The suspension of Tex Sutton charters meant that GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and his once-beaten stablemate, 'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) (video), had to endure a lengthy van ride over from Churchill Downs, but GI Preakness S.-bound duo arrived safely at Pimlico Race Course shortly after 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. The horses were overseen by assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes, who said they departed Louisville about 4:45 a.m. Monday morning. "It seemed simple," he said. "Actually, we're here even earlier than we fly sometimes. If you...