Preakness

The 145th GI Preakness S. could be held Oct. 3, per a report by NBC affiliate WBAL TV. "The TV time is booked, and the 145th Preakness S. will be held Oct. 3 on NBC," the report read. The GI Kentucky Derby has been rescheduled for Sept. 5, while a date for the GI Belmont S. has yet to be announced. The Preakness S., originally scheduled for May 16, was postponed by the Maryland governor amid the coronavirus outbreak in March. It was also announced last month that the Preakness...

The Stronach Group and Maryland Jockey Club are looking into new dates for the GI Preakness S., which is currently scheduled for May 16, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, TSG announced Friday.The annual InfieldFest is canceled. TSG issued the following statement: "The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club are continuing to work with our key stakeholders to explore all options to set a new date for the running of Preakness 145.  Our first priority in these difficult times is the health and well-being of our customers, our vendors,...

King Guillermo (Uncle Mo), who caused a 49-1 upset in the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 7, has been supplemented to the Triple Crown at a fee of $6,000. The late payment having been received from Victoria Ranch, the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard has been updated, with King Guillermo in a share of third with 50 points for his defeat of Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}), who has amasssed 30 points in eighth. Horses not nominated to the Triple Crown at the first entry stage can be...

Ete Indien (Summer Front), who produced a breakout performance when dominating Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. by 8 1/2 lengths at Gulfstream, came out of his effort well Sunday morning, according to trainer Patrick Biancone. "Very good," Biancone told the Gulfstream notes team of how his colt looked. "He ate all his dinner and he's happy and sound this morning, which is what you want to see. We're good." Starting his career on turf, Ete Indien switched to the dirt for an upset allowance victory Dec. 20 in...

7th-Aqueduct, $75K, Alw/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 1m, 4:25 ET Repole Stable's LEGIT (Curlin) followed up a dominant debut victory going a mile at Gulfstream with an equally impressive two-turn, 'TDN Rising Star'-earning score in the Pimlico slop on Preakness weekend in 2018, but disappeared after that and resurfaces off a near 21-month layoff in this mile feature at Aqueduct. Unveiled as a 17-10 chance in Hallandale, the chestnut scampered away to triumph in hand by 7 1/4 lengths, then rallied from well off the pace to a four-length tally despite a...

A total of 347 3-year-olds, headed by juvenile champion and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Storm the Court (Court Vision), were nominated to this year's Triple Crown during the early nomination phase, which closed Jan. 25. All of the newly-turned 3-year-olds were nominated with a $600 payment to run in this season's GI Kentucky Derby May 2; GI Preakness S. May 16; and the GI Belmont S. June 6. The total decreased 4.1% (15 horses) from last year's 362 that were nominated at this stage. Leading the fray is Exline-Border...

Maryland lawmakers have introduced a bill, the Racing and Community Development Act of 2020, that would fund renovations at Laurel and Pimlico, ensuring that the GI Preakness S. will remain at Pimlico. The bill calls for the Maryland Stadium Authority to oversee the project and to raise $350 million to do so through the sale of bonds. The future of the Preakness had been in doubt when officials with The Stronach Group, which owns Laurel and Pimlico, made it known that they were interested in moving the race to Laurel....

Champion I'll Have Another (Flower Alley--Arch's Gal Edith, by Arch)'s first two North American foals have arrived. The first was dropped Jan. 14 at Rancho San Miguel. The 2020 filly is out of the winning mare Year of Light by Event of the Year. She was bred by Jacqueline Bousquet and Dr. Jeaneen Metzler. She was followed shortly on Jan. 15 by a filly born at Ballena Vista Farm, out of the Tribal Rule broodmare Jennifer's Joy bred by Harold and Pamela Tillema and Richard Tillema. Jennifer's Joy is from the...

At this time last year Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway) was starting over, re-learning the lessons that had enabled him to become a standout 3-year-old turf runner in 2017. Though he was nine months removed from career-saving surgery performed by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., there was no guarantee that he would be able to regain the brilliance. While sport is littered with tales of athletes who never could make a full comeback from injury, Bricks and Mortar is an unqualified success story....

As the TDN Rising Star Amalfi Sunrise drew off for an easy six-length success in the GII Sorrento S., I was reminded of a commission I received in the fall of 2015. With the Breeders' Cup bandwagon due to roll into Lexington and Keeneland, WinStar wanted to promote its extensive team of stallions. I was asked to write 250-word summaries for each of them, including three which were scheduled to be added to the roster in 2016. Strangely, those three--Constitution, Commissioner and Daredevil--were respectively responsible for Amalfi Sunrise, Powerfulattraction and...