Triple Crown

The span between Memorial Day and the third leg of the Triple Crown is often a quiet one in the racing world. Not this year, though. Here's a shaking-out of a reporter's notebook from a week that generated some unexpected headlines. Louisiana's move to more lenient medication rules: TDN's survey of seven trainers--Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox, Michael Stidham, Tom Amoss, Al Stall, Dallas Stewart, Cherie DeVaux--spoke volumes about the announcement by the Louisiana Racing Commission that it would be implementing "emergency" standards that softened a number of drug-regulating standards as...

The GI Kentucky Derby winner will run in the GI Belmont S. Trainer Kenny McPeek said Sunday that he has entered Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont, which will be run for the first time at Saratoga Race Course on June 8. "His blood work came back good and he's been eating everything up in his tub," McPeek said early Sunday afternoon. "It's going to be a fun weekend." The draw for the Belmont will be held Monday evening in downtown Saratoga Springs. Mystik Dan finished second in...

Baltimore, MD--The journey from the First Saturday in May through the Preakness can be an arduous one, fraught with activity and often times challenges that can try the most steady nerves. Young and old alike could be heard complaining about exhaustion by the time they made it through Preakness day, however, for some, it provided enough buoyancy to raise the Titanic. Such was the case with D. Wayne Lukas Sunday morning, the day after his colt Seize the Grey (Arrogate) wired the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Despite the...

In terms of positive momentum, the best result in the aftermath of every year's GI Preakness S. is for the GI Kentucky Derby winner to triumph again in Baltimore, setting up a potential Triple Crown bid that infuses the sport with a three-week burst of buoyancy leading up to the GI Belmont S. In the majority of years that doesn't happen, which is why the elusive Triple Crown is so special. So the next-best result is an exciting race with a compelling storyline. Saturday's 149th Preakness didn't quite deliver on...

4th-Churchill Downs, $123,820, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 5-18, 3yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:45.88, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. DISARM (c, 4, Gun Runner--Easy Tap, by Tapit), a 'TDN Rising Star', was a major player on last year's Triple Crown trail, hitting the board in both the GII Louisiana Derby and the GIII Lexington S. before running fourth behind Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Kentucky Derby. Fourth again in the GII Jim Dandy S., he chased home champion 3-year-old male Arcangelo (Arrogate) to be second in the GI Travers S. in his...

Baltimore, MD--The naysayers said it couldn't be done. Seize the Grey (Arrogate) wasn't fast enough, was unlikely to go that far and simply put, was just being thrown into the deep end. D. Wayne Lukas, however, blocked out the noise. The Hall of Famer has been quoted countless times over the years that he has built a career running where he didn't belong. And the 88-year-old proved once again that he not only belongs, but gave yet another master class in winning a Classic in Saturday's GI Preakness S. at...

The field for the GI Preakness S., ranked in "likeliest winner" order: 1) MYSTIK DAN (c, Goldencents--Ma'am, by Colonel John). O/B-Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, 4G Racing, LLC, & Valley View Farm LLC (Ky); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-3-1-1, $3,650,050. Last start: WON May 4 GI Kentucky Derby. The Derby champ will go favored in the Preakness on Saturday after the scratch of 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic). This son of Goldencents upset the first leg of the Triple Crown at 18-1 odds. In the last three Derbies,...

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...

Kenny McPeek's final decision on GI Kentucky Derby-winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents)'s Preakness appearance should come Saturday after training at Churchill Downs and post-discussion with the owners. The Derby hero went through a second day of galloping beneath the Twin Spires Friday morning under Robby Albarado and will likely pick up the pace Saturday morning. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will have other mounts Preakness weekend and will be riding at Pimlico regardless of the final choice. "Another steady day, another good day. Robby was happy. [Mystik Dan] ate up. We'll discuss...

While still officially remaining on the fence when it comes to whether or not he will run his GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in the May 18 GI Preakness S., trainer Kenny McPeek confirmed that an appearance in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown is a distinct possibility. "Who wouldn't want to?" he replied when asked if he is leaning toward running in the Preakness. "You only get so many of these windows of opportunity. It would give him a chance to prove himself again and maybe...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - While most of the racing world was focused on the 150th GI Kentucky Derby run last Saturday at Churchill Downs, the final stop on the Triple Crown series--the 156th GI Belmont S., some six weeks hence on June 8--is already at the top of the charts for plenty of people in this horse-centric upstate city. In order to accommodate the massive makeover of Belmont Park, New York Racing Association officials decided last year to stage the 2024 and 2025 runnings of the Belmont S. at Saratoga...

With the leading GI Kentucky Derby runners looking likely to skip the May 18 GI Preakness S., a wave of non-Derby starters are lining up for the second leg of the Triple Crown. Trainer Bob Baffert, whose horses were banned from the Derby, confirmed GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth (Good Magic) and stablemate Imagination (Into Mischief), who won the GII San Felipe S. before finishing a narrow runner-up behind Stronghold (Ghostzapper) in the GI Santa Anita Derby last time out, are both expected for the Preakness. The duo breezed in...