Pandemic Preakness

Pandemic Preakness

A field of 11 horses to go to post for the 2020 Pandemic Preakness.

A Triple Crown season that no one saw coming; The Preakness, which is usually the second race of the Triple Crown, is being run last. The Belmont Stakes was ran in June and the Kentucky Derby was ran in early September- Tiz The Law and Authentic being their respective winners.

Authentic at the 146th Kentucky Derby. Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

During the Preakness draw, which took place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Authentic, the winner of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, drew post 9 in the field of 11 horses with John Velasquez on board. Bob Baffert, a Hall Of Fame trainer of Authentic, was happy with the draw. He didn’t want Authentic to get post 1 or post 11. In his words, Authentic “breaks weird when he’s on the outside.” Authentic is definitely the favorite to win the Preakness, especially after his successful run at the Kentucky Derby. There, he shattered the hope of Tiz The Law having a shot at the Triple Crown, and made Bob Baffert a six- time Kentucky Derby winner. He tied the all-time record for the most Kentucky Derby wins by a trainer.

There are a few other horses that are very interesting to look into before the start of the Pandemic Preakness. Art Collector was the second-favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. He was coming off a confident win in the Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, where he secured his spot for the Kentucky Derby. Yet, due to a minor foot ailment and horse racing’s strict medication rules, the horse had to be pulled out of the Kentucky Derby. It was a tough decision made by the owner and trainer, but for them, their horse’s health “always comes first”. Now, the horse is 100 per cent healthy and is ready to compete in the Preakness with the odds of 5-2.

Next comes Mr. Big News. He came third in the Kentucky Derby. Before the Derby, he came sixth in the Blue Grass Stakes on July 11 and won the Oaklawn Stakes, a “win and you’re in” race, on April 11. His trainer, Bret Calhoun revealed that the horse has jumped back from the Derby fairly easily and is getting stronger every day. The trainer is confident in how Mr. Big News looks and predicts that he will run as well, if not better, at this year’s Preakness.

Swiss Skydiver. Credit: Janet Garaguso/NYRA Photo

Then comes Swiss Skydiver. The horse is a multiple Grade 1 winner and also is a filly, so that means that she is the only girl horse in the race to compete against 10 stallions. The only other filly to win the Preakness in the 21st century was Rachel Alexandra, who won the Preakness in 2009. Swiss Skydiver will be the 55th female to run in the Preakness and Robby Albarado will replace Tyler Gafflione to ride the filly, with the odds of 6-1. Trainer Kenny McPeek said that if Swiss Skydiver wins the Preakness, the horse could probably contend for “Horse Of The Year”. “She’s danced every dance and she’s been hickory and she had entertained the fan base like probably no filly in years. I think it’s a chance to make history.”, – McPeek said.

Thousand Words was supposed to be the third choice for the Kentucky Derby. Yet, when he was getting saddled, he slipped and bumped his head, breaking the assistant trainer’s arm in the process. He had to be scratched from the Kentucky Derby due to protocol: when the horse lands on its back, he is an automatic scratch, for the horse’s safety. The stallion’s odds are 6-1 with Florent Geroux as its jockey.

Authentic holding off NY Traffic at the 2020 Haskell .Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

If you are looking for a live long shot to run well, then definitely look into NY Traffic. He lost to the eventual Kentucky Derby winner Authentic by a head bob at the Haskell on July 18. During his recent workout at Churchill Downs, the trainer Saffie Joseph seemed content with the four-furlong workout. in 48 seconds flat. He will go into the Preakness as a 15-1 choice and will start from post 7 with Horacio Karamanos.

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