Rich Strike, the 80-1 shot ridden by Sonny Leon and educated by Eric Reed, mounted a livid and inconceivable rally to seize the 148th Kentucky Derby on May 7. He was not even within the discipline till one other horse was scratched the day earlier than the race.
But after initially pointing the colt towards the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, Rich Strike’s proprietor mentioned final week the horse would skip the Preakness and run within the Belmont Stakes on June 11 as a substitute. There gained’t be a Triple Crown on the road, however there may be positive to be loads of drama, with the filly Secret Oath, winner of the Kentucky Oaks, taking up the boys, together with the Derby runner-up, Epicenter.
Below, the Preakness horses are listed so as of publish place, with feedback by Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert of The New York Times. The morning-line odds had been set by Keith Feustle of Pimlico Race Course.
How to observe: Coverage on Saturday begins on CNBC at 2 p.m. Eastern time and strikes to NBC at 4 p.m. Coverage will even be streamed on NBCSports.com.
Purse: $1.5 million assured
Distance: 1 3/16 miles
Track file: 1 minute 52⅖ seconds (Farma Way, 1991)
Weight: 126 kilos
Post time: 7:01 p.m. Eastern
Our Picks
Joe Drape’s win-place-show picks: Secret Oath, Epicenter, Early Voting
Melissa Hoppert’s picks: Early Voting, Epicenter, Secret Oath
Here’s how we see the sector:
1. Simplification
Trainer: Antonio Sano Jockey: John Velazquez Odds: 6-1
Drape: This colt was operating on the finish of the Derby and completed fourth, however it’s unlikely that he’ll get the quick tempo that units up his late kick.
Hoppert: He has hit the board in six of eight races and appears to be thriving at Pimlico. But Jose Ortiz, who was aboard him for his final three begins, thinks he has a greater shot with Early Voting and selected to journey him as a substitute.
2. Creative Minister
Trainer: Kenny McPeek Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr. Odds: 10-1
Drape: This late bloomer has proven enchancment in every of his three begins, two of which had been wins. Another transfer ahead places him within the hunt.
Hoppert: His first race was in March, and this will likely be his stakes debut. But his homeowners imagine in him sufficient to have paid a $150,000 supplemental payment to make him eligible for the final two Triple Crown races. Might as nicely take a take likelihood, too, and throw him in your exotics.
3. Fenwick
Trainer: Kevin McKathan Jockey: Florent Geroux Odds: 50-1
Drape: His solely victory in six begins got here when he broke keenly and led each step of the way in which. He is most definitely the pacesetter.
Hoppert: The Eleventh-place Blue Grass finisher is a son of the 2007 Preakness winner Curlin. But that’s about all he has going for him.
4. Secret Oath
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas Jockey: Luis Saez Odds: 9-2
Drape: This filly has proven she belongs with the boys, ending third to them within the Arkansas Derby regardless of a horrible journey. The choose.
Hoppert: No Rich Strike? No downside. The Kentucky Oaks winner has a stable shot at changing into the seventh filly to win the Preakness, which might give Lukas a record-tying seven Preakness victories.
5. Early Voting
Trainer: Chad Brown Jockey: Jose Ortiz Odds: 7-2
Drape: He’s flippantly raced and fast of foot. This colt will not be not possible.
Hoppert: The second-place finisher within the Wood Memorial bypassed the Derby to level towards the Preakness. Brown and the colt’s proprietor, Seth Klarman, used this playbook earlier than with the 2017 Preakness victor Cloud Computing.
6. Happy Jack
Trainer: Doug O’Neill Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione Odds: 30-1
Drape: He was a handful to load into the Derby gate and triggered mayhem early within the race. This one wants to sit back.
Hoppert: The 14th-place Derby finisher is a son of Oxbow, who gained this race in 2013. That, plus the addition of blinkers, will not be sufficient to assist him right here.
7. Armagnac
Trainer: Tim Yakteen Jockey: Irad Ortiz Odds: 12-1
Drape: So far, he has merely confirmed to be an also-ran in opposition to high-caliber horses.
Hoppert: While he picks up Ortiz, he has missed the board in his two graded stakes races and is certainly a minimize under others who had been beforehand educated by the embattled Bob Baffert, akin to Taiba and Messier.
8. Epicenter
Trainer: Steve Asmussen Jockey: Joel Rosario Odds: 6-5
Drape: This one was going to be the post-time favourite even when Rich Strike got here. A constant kind that ran massive within the Derby.
Hoppert: He got here oh-so-close within the Derby, preventing on to complete second after a blazing-fast tempo within the first half wore out the remainder of the highest contenders. He’ll be within the combine once more late, however how a lot did the Derby take out of him?
9. Skippylongstocking
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr. Jockey: Junior Alvarado Odds: 20-1
Drape: He has labored nicely since ending third within the Wood Memorial. He could hit the board.
Hoppert: He is a son of the 2016 Preakness winner Exaggerator and probably the most skilled within the discipline, having run 9 races. But he has gained solely two.
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