Preakness S.

Edited Press Release The Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday strict protocols for jockeys intending to ride during Preakness weekend, Oct. 1-3, at Pimlico Race Course. All jockeys intending to ride during the weekend must arrive at Pimlico's drive-up COVID-19 testing site located just outside of the Hayward Avenue stable gate no later than 72 hours prior to their first riding assignment: Monday, Sept. 28 by 10 a.m. for Thurs., Oct. 1 Tuesday, Sept. 29 by 10 a.m. for the Friday, Oct. 2 Wednesday, Sept. 30 by 10 a.m. for Sat.,...

Sackatoga Stables' Tiz the Law (Constitution) returned to the worktab for the first time since finishing second to Authentic (Into Mischief) as the favorite in the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby, breezing a half-mile in an easy :50.07 with regular exercise rider Heather Smullen in the irons. "It was a nice, easy work," trainer Barclay Tagg said. "I wasn't looking for much. I just wanted him to go out there and stretch his legs. He hadn't done anything in three weeks." Prior to his hard-trying runner-up effort in the Derby,...

'TDN Rising Star' Pneumatic (Uncle Mo), last-out winner of the Aug. 15 Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park, breezed five furlongs in company in a bullet 1:00.85 over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Monday morning as he continues towards a start in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3. With exercise rider Angel Garcia up, Pneumatic went in fractions of :12, :23.80, :36 and galloped out three-quarters of a mile in 1:15. "On this track, that's about as good as horses work," said Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve...

Third-place GI Kentucky Derby finisher Mr. Big News (Giant's Causeway) geared up for Pimlico's Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. with a half-mile breeze in :48 4/5 (22/76) Friday at Churchill Downs. Regular exercise rider Tony Quinones was in irons. "He was very sharp this morning," said trainer Bret Calhoun. "I know it was cool. He went a little quicker than we wanted, but did it very easy, well within himself. He was full of energy, kind of what we wanted to see. It was what we wanted or better." Mr....

For the fourth consecutive year, the Maryland Jockey Club is offering the $100,000 Sentient Jet Trainer Bonus to horsemen that accumulate the most points during stakes races over GI Preakness S. weekend, Oct. 1-3 at Pimlico Race Course. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen captured the $50,000 prize in both 2017 and 2018 but finished second to Brad Cox in 2019. Led by the 145th running of the Preakness, presented this year as the final jewel in a refashioned Triple Crown and a "Win and You"re In" qualifier for the...

'TDN Rising Star' Happy Saver (Super Saver) ran his record to a perfect three-for-three with a workmanlike success in Monday's Federico Tesio S. at Laurel. The 1-5 chalk was off well enough and took up an outside stalking role as Monday Morning Qb (Imagining) called the plays up front. Put to an all-out drive by Trevor McCarthy, the Wertheimer homebred took a few strides to hit his top gear, but he reeled in the pacesetter a furlong down and edged clear. An impressive debut winner on the Belmont S. undercard...

The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club announced that Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico will proceed without fans in attendance. The 145th Preakness will air live on NBC from 4:30-6:00 p.m. ET. The Preakness, like the other two Triple Crown races, are a Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' events for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in November. "The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club have been working closely in consultation with local and state health and governmental authorities for the past several months to thoughtfully...

Officials at Breeders' Cup Limited and The Stronach Group have announced that the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S., the final leg of this year's reconstituted Triple Crown, has been added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series and will offer the winner an all-expenses-paid berth in the starting gate for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 7. It will mark the first time that a Triple Crown races is part of the series. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional first leg of the Triple Crown was postponed...

Claiborne Farm has purchased an interest in Classic winner War of Will (War Front--Visions of Clarity {Ire}, by Sadlers Wells), who will stand at the Paris, Kentucky farm upon the conclusion of his racing career. The winner of a trio of a trio of graded events at three, including the GI Preakness S., the Gary Barber-campaigned colt most recently scored in the GI Maker's Mark Mile over the Keeneland turf July 10. War of Will's 2021 stud fee will be announced following the Breeders' Cup. "War of Will has an...

Tiz the Law (Constitution) won the GI Belmont S. Saturday, dominating nine rivals who were outclassed by the best 3-year-old colt in North America. Let the debate begin. What, exactly, is Tiz the Law's place in racing history and should he win the Triple Crown, does he belong in the same sentence as Secretariat, Citation, Seattle Slew and the other 10 immortals? Some will say no. Their point is that he won the first third of a Triple Crown that is unlike anything anyone has ever seen, starting with a...

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen surpassed Dale Romans as the winningest trainer in the history of Churchill Downs Friday, sending out Drop Dead Gorgeous (Strong Mandate) to win the opening race on the program. The victory was his 738th at the historic Louisville oval. "If anyone knows American horse racing, they know what Churchill Downs means to the sport," Asmussen said. "This is a very significant honor. I know the people who have been in this spot before, and been here consistently, and for us to have won the most...

So that's why they had to split the GI Arkansas Derby. One division apiece for Kipling's "twin imposters,"--Triumph and Disaster. Though we've all felt otherwise, from time to time, Lady Luck is as proportionate as she is indiscriminate in her dealings with Thoroughbreds. If Bob Baffert is better placed to absorb the loss of a servant as talented as Nadal (Blame), only a barn of such depth could have achieved the level of Triumph, in the first place, to have meanwhile registered a commensurate sequel of Disaster. It's not the...