The Preakness Stakes is Saturday, and for horse racing fans and bettors, it seems like the thoroughbred industry continues to get more mysterious: the 2019 Kentucky Derby winner, Maximum Security, was disqualified for interference during the race and Medina Spirit, the 2021 winner, was disqualified for drugs and died later that year.
Subsequent negative occurrences continue to haunt the business.
7 Deaths At Churchill Down During Derby Week: With the constant focus on drug usage and the abuse of racehorses, the rash of deaths (some unexplained) diminish the allure of thoroughbred racing. Moreover, the physical fragility of the horses is reducing overall competition.
Forte's Late Scratch At The Derby: After Forte’s impressive two-year-old campaign and a come-from-behind win in the Florida Derby, racing fans were hopeful of another Triple Crown winner.
But in a strange turn of events, the colt was scratched the morning of the race for an apparent hoof injury that took place earlier in the week.
Only a few days later, the colt and his owners were stripped of their win and prize money from the 2022 Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga Race Course after testing positive for banned substances. Forte will not be in the Preakness, as the Maryland Jockey Club is honoring the Kentucky Racing Commission’s two-week injury ban on the colt.
See Also: Mage Wins Kentucky Derby Following Deaths Of Several Horses at Churchill Downs
Baffert In The House: No one has been accused and suspected of more potential drug abuse than the silver-haired fox, Bob Baffert. Interestingly, after being banned from Churchill Downs and several other tracks, he will have an entry in the Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course.
Obviously, the Maryland Racing Commission is not following the lead of its Kentucky counterpart on this one.
Whether you like him or not, Baffert has won more Preaknesses — seven — than any other trainer. His entry, National Treasure, is adding blinkers and will be able to get to the early lead coming out of the No. 1 post position; he just might be able to hang on.
Citation (1948 Triple Crown Winner) And Mage: For the first time since 1948, only one horse from the Kentucky Derby, Mage, will be racing in the Preakness Stakes.
While the case with Citation could have been that all of the derby trainers thought that their colts could not contend, it may be the same case with Mage.
It’s also possible trainers are skipping the Preakness Stakes after the grueling 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby because they want to bring a fresh horse to Belmont Park.
This strategy could dampen Mage’s chance of winning the Triple Crown, as the 1 1/2-mile-long Belmont Stakes is the longest Triple Crown event, an especially daunting task against fresh horses.
Longshot With Some Home Cooking, CoffeewithChris: A strategy from the past that has worked in previous years has been to pick a horse that is Maryland-bred, or familiar with Pimlico Race Course.
There are slim pickings here on that score, as CoffeewithChris is the only horse in the field with a victory at Pimlico, and that was via a disqualification last May.
The call here is for the 3-year-old with some early speed to get to the top and hang on.
Trying To Find Value With The Favorite: As 2-1 odds or less, Mage is not a high-value proposition. If he wins and CoffeewithChris comes in second, a $2 Exacta will yield a higher return.
Coupling Mage with the field may not be the best call, in the event that one of the second favorites follows Mage across the wire.
For my wager, CoffeewithChris: Let’s hope his familiarity with the course, along with getting fired up to the playing of “Maryland, My Maryland” will be enough to secure the win.
This year’s Preakness Stakes will start with pre-race coverage on CNBC and will stream on Peacock from 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET. The main race will air on NBC and stream on Peacock from 4:30 p.m ET to 7:30 p.m. ET Official post time for the race is 7:01 p.m. ET.
Photo: Rombauer wins The Preakness in 2021, courtesy The Preakness Stakes.
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