Preakness

TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley Talks Arc On Writers' Room

In addition to all the Stateside action this weekend--the final leg of the Triple Crown, Fall Stars Weekend at Keeneland and 11 Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" events--the biggest race of the year in Europe will also be run with Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris. Wednesday on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley joined the crew as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about the much-anticipated showdown between Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and...

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Laurel to Expand to 4-Day Weekly Schedule in October

Even as Pimlico Race Course opened Sept. 24 for its two-weekend, GI Preakness S. mini-meet, work was being done at Laurel Park to prepare for a return to a four-day weekly schedule when the Oct. 8-Dec. 31 meet resumes there. "It's all systems go up here at Pimlico. We're trying to get the old mare looking good for NBC, and we're looking forward to a really good event," Sal Sinatra, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC), which owns both tracks, told Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) members during Thursday's...

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Kevin Attard Joins TDN Writers' Room

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more successful claim in the past decade than Blue Heaven Farm's Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind). Plucked for $16,000 from Jorge Navarro of all people in February of 2017 at Gulfstream, the now 7-year-old mare has taken trainer Kevin Attard on the ride of a lifetime, and scored her greatest triumph yet with a victory in Saturday's GI Woodbine Mile S., becoming a multimillionaire in the process. Wednesday, Attard joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the...

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Max Player to Preakness

George Hall and SportsBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s Max Player (Honor Code) will contest the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. "I'm very excited because I haven't been in the Preakness yet," said Hall, who won the 2011 Belmont with 24-1 shot Ruler On Ice. "After the Kentucky Derby, he looked like he wanted to keep running. Steve watched him closely, and he was in great shape. He's galloped well. He's breezed well. We felt the horse was at the peak of his game and is ready to run." Winner of...

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Tiz the Law to Skip Preakness, Train Up to Breeders' Cup

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution), runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby, will bypass a run in the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. and instead train up to the Nov. 7 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, according to a statement from Sackatoga principal Jack Knowlton. "Tiz the Law [is] officially skipping [the] Preakness," Knowlton said on the Sackatoga Twitter account. "Disappointing that Tiz will not be able to run in the Preakness, [but] our primary interest is doing what's right for the horse and in this case he's not ready....

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Jesus' Team to Be Supplemented to Preakness

Grupo 7C Stable's Jesus' Team (Tapiture), third in the GII Jim Dandy S. and fourth in the GI TVG.com Haskell Invitational S., will be supplemented to the GI Preakness S. Oct. 3 at Pimlico. The decision was made, said trainer Jose D'Angelo, after the $30,000 Keeneland September buy breezed a half-mile Saturday at Monmouth Park in :47.80. "I explained to the owner the races [available] to him and he thinks the best decision was to run in the Preakness," D'Angelo said. "He worked four furlongs very well. He's very, very good...

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Liveyourbeastlife Breezes for Preakness

William H. Lawrence's Liveyourbeastlife (Ghostzapper), the runner-up in the GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga Sept. 5, worked five-eighths in :59.89 (3/9) Thursday over the Belmont Park main track in preparation for the GI Preakness S. Oct. 3. Trainer Jorge Abreu said that the dark bay would be supplemented to the third and final leg of the Triple Crown. "He breezed really well today," Abreu said. "He went in :59 4/5, which is something he's never done before. We're going to take a shot." Liveyourbeastlife, a $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select...

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Swiss Skydiver Remains Possible for Preakness

GI Alabama winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) remains possible to contest the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3. "It's going to depend on who shows up," said trainer Ken McPeek. "We are also nominating her to the [GI] Spinster [Oct. 4] and she's been invited to the [GI] QEII [Oct. 10]. We're shopping it, that's all. We have three good choices. My strong preference would have been a 3-year-old filly Grade I [on dirt], but there isn't one out there." Both alternatives to the Preakness, the nine-furlong Spinster for fillies...

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The Week in Review: The Pandemic as Positive Leverage to Revamp the Triple Crown

Now that the GI Kentucky Derby has been run on the first Saturday in September and we found out the world didn't tilt off its axis because of the pandemic's blow to tradition, it's time to start leveraging the scheduling chaos caused by COVID-19 so it serves as a way to propel the sport forward instead of back to the perceived comforts of normalcy. This year's June 20 GI Belmont S., although shortened to nine furlongs as a nod to pandemic practicality, served its purpose as a fine "welcome back...

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Derby Winner Authentic on Track for Preakness

The 2020 GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) and his stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) are both on track for Pimlico's GI Preakness S., scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, according to trainer Bob Baffert. The Hall of Famer reported Sunday from Keeneland's September yearling sale that both colts remain at the Churchill barn of D. Wayne Lukas. Both are galloping daily and Baffert indicated they would both likely breeze toward the end of the week. "[Authentic] came out [of the Derby] very well, very well," said Baffert Sunday....

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'Tiz' Back at Belmont; Preakness Still Under Consideration

Sackatoga Stable's four-time Grade I winner and recent GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Tiz the Law (Constitution) has returned to trainer Barclay Tagg's Belmont home base as his connections consider a start in the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. "He'll be doing his regular gallops and as long as everything continues along well, then we'll have a work next weekend to assess where we are," said Sackatoga Operating Manager Jack Knowlton. "We want to make sure he comes out of the race well and acts like he did after the [Aug....

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'Maryland, My Maryland” Won't Be Played at Preakness
'Maryland, My Maryland” Won't Be Played at Preakness

The Stronach Group, which operates Pimlico, has confirmed that the song "Maryland, My Maryland" will no longer be played before the running of the GI Preakness S. The story was first reported by the www.theracingbiz.com. The song, which has been played at Pimlico since 1909, has stirred up controversy because its lyrics are meant to encourage Maryland to join the Confederacy. The sixth verse includes the following lines; "Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, Maryland! Virginia should not call in vain, Maryland! She meets her sisters on the plain-'Sic semper!'...

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