GI Preakness S. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Should the Triple Crown Be Changed? We Ask Trainers to Weigh In

After the connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted to skip the GI Preakness S. and instead prepare for the GI Belmont S., the structure of the Triple Crown races has been a subject of debate leading up to the second leg of the historic series. Should the timing between the races be adjusted? We asked a few veteran trainers here.

Mark Casse:

I think it has to stay the same. I think it's nonsense to talk any different. This is history, this is what our game has been about for over a hundred years. The Triple Crown is not supposed to be easy. A horse can handle the racing, especially now where we aren't doing as much prior to the Kentucky Derby.

In the Kentucky Derby, we run at a neutral surface. There has been no racing there all spring. Some horses may have ran there in the fall, but the Churchill Downs racetrack is very different in the fall compared to the spring so I don't feel like there's any home field advantage there. Then we go to Pimlico, where it is definitely a neutral playing field. We see a lot of horses run well in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. War of Will (War Front) is a perfect example of that. He was very much hindered in the Derby and he came back and won the Preakness, but he didn't show up in the Belmont. A lot of people would say he was tired, but I would say it had more to do with the fact that they call it Big Sandy for a reason. The surface is very loose and a lot of horses won't handle it.

It's my feeling that anyone stabled at Belmont has a big advantage. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness are run on a neutral battlefield, but the Belmont is not. I think if you look over the last 20 years, a lot of it has to do with there being a home field advantage rather than horses being tired.

That was my reasoning in doing what I did with [2019 Belmont S. winner] Sir Winston (Awesome Again). I ran him in the GIII Peter Pan S., where he ran second, and I thought going into the Belmont that he had a big chance because he was running over a racetrack he had already ran on. There's no question that Belmont is entirely a different world. A lot of times these horses are doing well in the Derby and the Preakness and then are getting beat in the Belmont. They'll say it's because the horse is tired, but I don't think it's that.

I'm always looking for new ideas and new reasons to make things better, but I don't think the Triple Crown should be changed.

Doug O'Neill:

I think it is time for a change. Everything evolves. We have made a lot of other positive changes in the best interests of the horse. I like the concept of putting four weeks between each of the races and having it be the first Saturday in May, the first Saturday in June and the first Saturday in July. It would work well, too, from a marketing standpoint. My gut says that's the way to go.

I completely disagree with the idea that it would diminish the accomplishment. Sometimes, coming out of the Derby and going into the Preakness, you really don't have to do a lot. As long as there are no injuries, you can kind of coast in between. If you put a month in between, that would require some good horsemanship. Man and horse will have to work together to maintain that level of brilliance in between the races. It could even make it a tad more challenging. I hate being a contrarian, but I think changing it would be a good thing.

Shug McGaughey:

I don't think it should be changed. It's very traditional and one of the reasons why it is so difficult to win is the way the races are spaced.

If they went to three weeks, I wouldn't complain about that. But I think the way it is structured right now adds to the mystique of the Triple Crown. You have to run and you have to have the horse and the knowledge to be able to get the horse from the Derby to the Preakness and then from the Preakness to the Belmont. If I had a horse that ran second or third in the Derby, would I come back in the two weeks? I would think about it.

The Preakness is a race that stands on its own and I would love to win it. If I had a horse that was capable of coming back in two weeks, I would run. If I didn't think the horse was capable of coming back in two weeks, I wouldn't run.

Check in tomorrow for more responses from industry participants.

The post Should the Triple Crown Be Changed? We Ask Trainers to Weigh In appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Early Voting Targets Preakness

Klaravich Stables' Early Voting (Gun Runner) is possible to make his next start in the May 21 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico, although trainer Chad Brown may opt to enter the GIII Withers S. winner Monday in the GI Kentucky Derby if there is a strategic defection. The four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer will be represented by Keeneland's GI Blue Grass S. winner Zandon (Upstart) at Churchill Downs for the Derby.

“Right now the horse is still in New York preparing for the Preakness,” Brown said of Early Voting. “If the complexion of the Derby field changes a certain way before the race, it's not out of the question that I go ahead and ship him over to Churchill and enter him in the Derby. But right now we're planning on running in the Preakness.”

He continued, “We have the points [to get in the Derby]. The horse is doing well. We have the flexibility to keep it as an option. No one is forcing us to make a decision earlier than we want. I don't want to make a 'final' decision and then change your mind. That's worse than delaying. Things happen. Horses drop out, the pace scenario could change, things like that. Seth [Klarman] and I want to handle it intelligently. We want the flexibility. But if everything stays the way it is right now with the field, I plan on running the horse in the Preakness.”

Early Voting has raced only three times: winning a one-mile maiden race at Aqueduct Dec. 18, followed by a 4 1/2-length victory over Un Ojo (Laoban) in the Withers Feb. 5 before finishing second to Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GII Wood Memorial Apr.9. Un Ojo subsequently won the GII Rebel S. at odds of 75-1 at Oaklawn Feb. 26.

“With only three starts under his belt, putting him in a 20-horse field not even knowing what post you're going to draw and bringing him all the way over here [to Churchill], I didn't feel was a good gamble for the future of the horse. Seth feels the same way. However, if the field changes in such a way where it looks like he's moving up to be one of the main contenders and maybe one of the only pace horses in the race, then I would change my mind.”

Early Voting's path to the Preakness is similar to that of former Brown charge, Cloud Computing, who captured the Classic in 2017. Also owned by Klaravich, Cloud Computing also ran three times, winning his debut at Aqueduct in February, finishing second in the GIII Gotham S. before coming home third in the Wood. He also skipped the Derby before winning the Preakness.

“We've won the Preakness before, obviously,” Brown said. “With Seth being a Baltimore native, it's a very important race to him and he'd be honored to win it a second time, he tells me. So it's not a disappointing goal to shoot for. We hold the race in high regard, and we want to do the right thing for the horse for the future, too, beyond the Derby and the Preakness.”

He added, “This horse has a big career ahead of him. Right now he's a beautiful, sound, improving horse. We want to continue to develop him.”

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Secret Oath Could Try Preakness After Oaks

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas indicated Secret Oath (Arrogate) may take another shot against the boys in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 21 following tilt at the May 6 GI Kentucky Oaks. Secret Oath finished third in the GI Arkansas Derby in her first start against males.

“We had no intention of running in the [GI Kentucky] Derby; running a mile and a quarter, in a 20-horse field,” Lukas said. “Whether you could make a case or not that she's one of the better 3-year-olds in the country–which you can–we had no intention of that.”

He continued, “We were running in the Arkansas Derby because the race was [worth] $1.25 million. That in itself was the incentive. If she had won the Arkansas Derby, we wouldn't have run in the Kentucky Derby. We were pretty adamant that we were going to run in the [Kentucky] Oaks and have the best filly in the country.”

The second jewel in the American Triple Crown is contested over 9 1/2 furlongs.

“That's what the nomination was for,” Lukas said. “That's what we thought: If we have a big Oaks, now we cut back in distance. We go to a 14-horse field versus 20. We go on a different surface, tight turns, where speed would be good. It changes the whole game when you go to the Preakness.”

Lukas has won the Preakness on six occasions, most recently with Calumet Farm's Oxbow in 2013. The Preakness also gave Lukas his first Triple Crown victory, that coming with Codex in 1980.

“I have good luck at the Preakness,” said Lukas, who also has won the Derby and GI Belmont S. four times apiece. “I always have had.”

Secret Oath, by champion Arrogate, won the Martha Washington S. and GIII Honeybee S. this winter at Oaklawn earlier this season. She ranks with 80 points for the May 6 Oaks.

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Base Repairs Needed Prior to Preakness Meet

Pimlico Race Course will shut down for training over a three-day period later this month to repair the base of the main dirt track ahead of the GI Preakness S. meet that runs May 12-30.

Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns both Pimlico and Laurel Park, alerted the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) to the upcoming closure during Tuesday's monthly commission meeting.

Rogers said the exact dates for the repairs are dependent on weather. Apr.17-20 is the primary time window, with Apr. 25-27 a backup option.

During the Apr. 5 meeting, Rogers described the work as a “normal, routine process.” He later detailed the areas that need attention in a follow-up email to TDN.

“The areas are on the outside before the chute and the outside in the middle of the far turn,” Rogers wrote. “The areas are previous repairs that have been repaired a number of times in the last 5+ years. While the track is shut down we can examine any other previous repairs done and fix accordingly.”

Pimlico's main track has been pressed into increased usage over the past year because of a massive main-track replacement project at Laurel. It's also scheduled to see extra usage this summer, because Pimlico is scheduled to host an August meet for the first time since 2005.

One year ago, Laurel's main track was in such bad shape that TSG ceased racing on it Apr. 11, 2021, to begin an emergency rebuild from the base up. The project was repeatedly delayed and had its scope expanded, and it ended up taking five months before racing could resume instead of the initially projected one month.

When racing resumed Sept. 9, Laurel's main track had no apparent safety issues. But the onset of cold weather revealed problems with seams in the base of the homestretch, then the cushion atop that layer needed substantial reworking to give it more body and depth.

Eight horses died from fractures while racing or training over Laurel's main track between Oct. 3 and Nov. 28, leading to several halts in racing and training that extended into January while expert track surface consultants scrambled to provide a fix.

Rogers reported to the MRC that the surface at Laurel is now in the process of being gradually de-winterized to prepare for warmer weather.

“]Laurel], as we know, we have issues with the cushion,” Rogers told the MRC. “So we're actually in the process now of converting that cushion back to being a summer track. So we're adding some of the finer materials again so that we can water the track and the track can withstand the warmer temperatures that happen in the summertime.”

Rogers continued: “The shoulder season when we go back and forth to the summer track will now be much more manageable than we've seen in the past. We're doing that now and there seems to be positive feedback from the horsemen. We were getting feedback earlier that [the track was] 'dead' or didn't have life to it. And that's kind of consistent with the track having the larger-coarse fibers that we've added [for winter]. And with the temperature warming up, now we're adding that finer [material].”

A check of the base of Laurel's main track will also be scheduled in the near future, Rogers said.

And Laurel's turf course is just 10 days from its first scheduled race on Apr. 15, Rogers reported.

“I know there's been discussions in the past about the drainage of this turf course. But we've undertaken to [install] cameras to check our drainage system. So everything checks so far–the drainage system is absolutely fine. But we do have prior maintenance practices of rolling this turf course quite a bit, so there's compaction that's fairly deep in the turf course. So it's actually a vertical drainage issue [and] we've been aerating it quite a bit. We aerated it last year, and we're continuing to do that. So I'm confident that we're heading in the right direction.

“Is this turf course exactly where it needs to be?” Rogers asked rhetorically. “Not quite yet. We still need to do much more aeration [so that] if we have a big rainstorm, it can drain properly and [we'll be] ready to race in short order. It's a work in progress, but we're definitely much better than we were last year, and I'm confident we'll be in good shape.”

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