American Pharoah, Dortmund continue to receive positive
reviews
Kentucky Derby (G1) winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and
“Those two looked good,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “American Pharoah, he is
Going on the track after the harrow break, the two backtracked to the front
Baffert, who has won the Preakness five times, is three-for-three with his
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“They were totally different horses,” Baffert said. “The main concern is that
they look healthy and are doing good. That is all you can hope for going into a
race.”
Baffert’s other Preakness winners, Point Given in 2001 and Lookin At Lucky in
2010, had finished fifth and sixth respectively in the Derby before going to
Pimlico.
“I always won with the best horse,” Baffert said. “Usually those were the
best horses of that crop.”
All five of Baffert’s Preakness winners came on a fast track and the
62-year-old conditioner noted that the long-range forecast for Saturday in
Baltimore called for a chance of thunderstorms.
“If it rains, we know American Pharoah loves the mud,” Baffert said alluding
to the colt’s 6 1/4-length victory over a wet track in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn
Park. “I don’t know about Dortmund.”
After the two colts train Wednesday morning, Baffert and his Preakness
candidates are scheduled to fly to Baltimore.
In other Preakness news:
Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line (Line of David) completed the
“He won’t train in the morning,” assistant trainer Carlos Santamaria said.
Firing Line had concluded his past two days of training with open gallops and
“I wanted to give him an easy day today and he wants to do more,” Gomez said.
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Santamaria is ready for the next step on the Triple Crown trail to commence
with the flight to Baltimore tomorrow.
“Everything has gone perfect,” Santamaria said. “The weather has cooled and
he has done well. Knock wood, we keep it the same until we leave.”
Meanwhile, at Churchill, Charles Fipke’s Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati)
“American Pharoah looks really good. He is the horse to beat,” Stewart said.
Danzig Moon galloped a mile at Churchill Downs under exercise rider William
“Norman knows him better than anybody,” said father/trainer Mark Casse, who
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The versatile colt is slated to make the fifth start of his sophomore
campaign at his fifth different racetrack in the Preakness. He was fifth in the
Kentucky Derby despite a traffic-marred trip at odds of 22-1, but his trainer
seems relatively at ease with the quick turnaround.
“Not that the two weeks is ideal for anybody, but I don’t think it will
bother him much,” Mark Casse said. “He’s tough. You just never know until they
run, but we think he’s still on his game.”
Trainer Arnoud Delacour received confirmation from agent Matt Muzikar Tuesday
morning that champion jockey Javier Castellano will ride Divining Rod (Tapit) in
the Preakness Stakes.
Castellano, the two-time winner of the Eclipse Award, replaces Julien
Divining Rod turned in a breakthrough performance winning the Lexington
“I’m very interested to see how he will handle the step up in competition and
Earlier in his career, the colt used his speed to be on the lead and had some
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“I think the horse has started to understand it a little bit,” Delacour said.
“This is the time of the year that a three-year-old should start showing that
experience. What I hope is going to make the difference now is that the horse
can still break well and get a position — that he doesn’t have to make the lead
and can sit off the pace a little bit if he needs to. That will be up to the
jock and why we have that kind of rider.”
Neither Bodhisattva (Student Council) nor owner/trainer Jose Corrales are
household names, but Corrales is hoping that changes by the end of the Preakness
Stakes on Saturday.
“Most people can’t even pronounce his name, not even me,” said Corrales,
whose colt’s rambling moniker is derived from a Buddhist term meaning
“enlightened one.” Corrales, a former jockey, is himself a relative unknown
outside of Maryland making his first start in a Triple Crown race in either
capacity.
“He’s doing great,” Corrales said Tuesday morning from Laurel Park after his
chestnut colt jogged and galloped over the main track. “I don’t know if he’s
going to run a big race or what, but so far everything’s going good. I’m so
low-key — I was as a jockey and now as a trainer. I never wanted to say my
horse is better than your horse or my horse will win this because you never know
what’s going to happen. So many things can happen in a race.”
The Maryland Jockey Club has announced the security and pre-race procedures
for all horses scheduled to compete in the 140th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico
Race Course.
All Preakness entrants must be on the grounds and situated in Barns D, E and
C by noon on Thursday. Blood specimens will be drawn for all prospective runners
later that afternoon.
Security cameras are installed and will be operational in those three barns
upon the arrival of new barn occupants, and access to each barn will be
permitted only at each corner. All persons must sign in when entering any of
those barns.
Pre-race exams on Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. (ET) and horses must be
“clean-legged” and out of ice treatments until after they are examined.
Practicing veterinarians will provide the Racing Commission with a list of
treatments prior to administration except in an emergency.
No practicing veterinarian other than the one administering salix (Lasix)
shall be allowed into those barns after 6:15 p.m. on Friday without approval
from the state veterinarian and the stewards, unless it is a documented
emergency. All salix must be administered no later than three hours prior to
post time or the horse will be scratched.
Pre-race blood samples will be drawn from all horses entered in graded-stakes
races on the Preakness program. A Racing Commission representative will
supervise all treatments
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