Preakness Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

NY Traffic Likely for Preakness Following Sunday Work

Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic) was named likely to make the line-up for Saturday’s GI Preakness S. at Pimlico following a four-furlong work in :48 flat (2/88) at Churchill Downs Sunday.

“Most likely he’s going to go, but tomorrow we’ll make the decision,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. “We were very happy with the work.”

Ny Traffic came up a nose short of Authentic (Into Mischief) when second in the July 18 GI TVG.com Haskell S. Sunday’s work was his first since finishing eighth behind that rival in the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby. He exited the Derby with a cut on his left front ankle.

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) was confirmed for the Preakness following her five-furlong work in 1:00.80 (19/57) at Churchill Downs Saturday. Trainer Ken McPeek announced Sunday the sophomore will be ridden by Robby Albarado as she tries to become the sixth filly to win the Preakness.

“I know she will make the distance without any problem,” McPeek said of the GI Alabama S. winner. “I think she will like that racetrack. Of course, she has raced everywhere. Whatever racetrack she has raced over she has handled great. It was a tough call between racing against straight 3-year-olds or older fillies and mares or turf, which was briefly thought about. I think she will handle it fine.”

In her first attempt against males, Swiss Skydiver was second behind fellow Preakness hopeful Art Collector (Bernardini) in the July 11 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland. She won as she pleased in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama at Saratoga Aug. 15 and was most recently second behind Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) in the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks.

“My preference would have been if they wrote a race like the Alabama back for this week,” McPeek said. “But that doesn’t exist. There are no 3-year-old filly Grade Is. She gets a little bit of weight off and she’s continuing to do good.”

Godolphin’s homebred Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), winner of the Sept. 5 GII Jim Dandy S., breezed five furlongs Sunday in 1:01.60 (2/2) over the main track at Fair Hill Training Center, but trainer Mike Stidham has all but ruled out the Preakness for the sophomore.

“The work went great. It was on a wet track, but he handled it really well. We were comfortable with it being a safe track to work on,” Stidham said. “He just went evenly and finished up nice with a good gallop-out, but we’re pretty much focused on skipping the Preakness and going into the [Oct. 10 GI] Jockey Club [Gold Cup at Belmont Park].”

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Liveyourbeastlife To Give Abreu His First Shot At American Classic Race

A week after a quicker than anticipated breeze of Liveyourbeastlife, trainer Jorge Abreu said he wanted something a little easier from the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper, and he got just what he was looking for with a six-furlong work in 1:16.20 on the Belmont Park main track in preparation for the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Last week, the dark bay colt worked five-eighths in a swift 59.89, prompting Abreu to breeze Liveyourbeastlife without blinkers on Saturday morning. The conditioner said the equipment would remain on the horse for the Preakness.

“He had a nice maintenance breeze this morning; nice and steady. I wasn't looking for anything crazy,” Abreu said. “He had a nice, long gallop out which is just what I wanted. Last week, he breezed a little quick. I didn't want him to do too much, so I took the blinkers off for the work.”

Owned by William H. Lawrence, Liveyourbeastlife was a late-closing second to Mystic Guide in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga in his most recent start, where he registered a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure at 14-1 odds.

Bred in Kentucky by Phillips Racing Partnership, Liveyourbeastlife is out of the multiple black-type producing Kris S. mare Ellie's Moment, whose notable progeny include Time and Motion – a Grade 1 winner on turf. Despite the fact that Liveyourbeastlife boasts a pedigree that would suggest turf, Abreu said the horse does not handle the grass as well as one would think.

“I worked him on the turf one day at Saratoga last summer and he didn't work well at all. He went [five-eighths] in 1:05,” Abreu recalled. “But he does well on the dirt, so no need to change anything.”

Liveyourbeastlife will give Abreu, who took out his trainer's license at the end of 2016 after working as an assistant for Chad Brown, his first contender in an American Classic. Abreu said he is looking forward to the milestone opportunity.

“I am very excited. The horse is going into the race in very good shape, so we'll take the shot and see what happens,” Abreu said.

A 4 1/4-length winner on debut last September at Belmont Park for a $62,500 tag, Liveyourbeastlife did not find the winner's circle again until August 12, where he won a first-level allowance event at Saratoga that included graded stakes placed Candy Tycoon prior to his runner-up effort in the Jim Dandy.

Abreu said the horse has continued to show gradual improvement throughout the summer.

“The horse isn't a flashy horse in the morning,” Abreu said. “Nobody expected him to run that big in the Jim Dandy, but he's just getting better with age and with more racing experience.”

Liveyourbeastlife is expected to ship to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday morning and will be ridden by Mid-Atlantic based rider Trevor McCarthy.

In other Preakness Stakes related news, Paul Pompa, Jr.'s Country Grammer, who went a half-mile in 50.25 seconds over the Belmont main track Saturday, has been confirmed for the final leg of the 2020 Triple Crown and will look to give Brown his second victory in the prestigious event after saddling Cloud Computing to a victory in the 2017 Preakness. The son of second-crop sire Tonalist won the Grade 3 Peter Pan on July 16 at Saratoga and was a last-out fifth in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers.

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Art Collector, Thousand Words Breeze At Churchill Downs

Bruce Lunsford's Blue Grass Stakes (Grade II) winner Art Collector and Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm's multiple graded stakes winner Thousand Words logged their final breezes Saturday morning at Churchill Downs prior to competing in the $1-million Preakness Stakes (G1) in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 3 – the third jewel of the 2020 Triple Crown.

Art Collector, with Brian Hernandez Jr. in the saddle, worked a half-mile in :48 while Thousand Words and Florent Geroux breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60.

Another possible Preakness contender to work Saturday at Churchill Downs was Peter Callahan's $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Swiss Skydiver who went five furlongs in 1:00.80 with Tyler Gaffalione aboard.

Art Collector, the classy 3-year-old son of Bernardini, was the seventh fastest of 78 horses at the distance Saturday and worked through fractions of :12.40, :24.40, :35.80 and :48. The five-time winner galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.60.

Thousand Words, who was scratched from the Kentucky Derby (G1) after he flipped in the paddock, worked with blinkers on through fractions of :11.80, :24.40 and :48.20. He completed his work with a six-furlong gallop out time of 1:13.60.

“I thought he worked a lot better today with blinkers,” Geroux said. “Last week was his first work over the track so he didn't wear them but went very easy. It was a bit more of a serious work today.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is scheduled to arrive in Louisville on Sunday for Kentucky Derby winner and fellow Preakness contender Authentic's work on Monday.

Also working Saturday morning was possible Preakness Stakes contender Swiss Skydiver who completed early fractions of :12, :23.60 and :35.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:15.20. Swiss Skydiver's Preakness Stakes status remains in question, according to trainer Kenny McPeek.

In total, there are seven possible Preakness Stakes contenders based at Churchill Downs. They are scheduled to leave Louisville and fly to Baltimore on Tuesday. The locally based Preakness contenders are (with trainer): Art Collector (Drury), Authentic (Baffert), Excession (Steve Asmussen), Max Player (Asmussen), Mr. Big News (Bret Calhoun), Swiss Skydiver (Kenny McPeek), and Thousand Words (Baffert).

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Maryland Jockey Club Announces Strict Jockey Protocols For Preakness Weekend

The Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday strict protocols for jockeys intending to ride during Preakness weekend, Oct. 1-3, at Pimlico Race Course.

A total of 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $3.35 million in purses will be offered during the three-day span that closes the abbreviated Preakness Meet at Pimlico, highlighted by the 145th running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3.

All jockeys intending to ride during the weekend must arrive at Pimlico's drive-up COVID-19 testing site located just outside of the Hayward Avenue stable gate no later than 72 hours prior to their first riding assignment:

Monday, Sept. 28 by 10 a.m. for the Thursday, Oct. 1 program
Tuesday, Sept. 29 by 10 a.m. for the Friday, Oct. 2 program
Wednesday, Sept. 30 by 10 a.m. for the Saturday, Oct. 3 program

Jockeys' room personnel, designated officials and designated racing personnel must visit the Pimlico drive-up testing site on Saturday, Sept. 26 or Monday, Sept. 28 by 10 a.m. Included are all starting gate crew, valets, outriders, escort pony personnel and racing officials that must access the jockeys' room.

Pimlico's drive-up testing site will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Sunday, Sept. 27 and running through Wednesday, Sept. 30. Samples collected before 10 a.m. will have results by 9 a.m. the following day. Samples collected after 10 a.m. will be tested the following day.

All jockeys coming to Maryland from out of state will be required to leave Pimlico after being tested and self-isolate until notified of their test results. Those with negative results will be instructed to return to Pimlico for a wristband indicating their status and which barn area they are allowed to access.

Jockeys with positive results will be directed not to enter the grounds at Pimlico and may be referred to the local MedStar Health medical director for clinical evaluation.

Access to the jockeys' room is limited to riders and their valets, jockeys' room officials and staff and designated essential personnel. Only jockeys scheduled to ride on the current day's program will be permitted entry.

All jockeys, valets and officials will have their temperatures taken daily and must demonstrate fair health before entering the jockeys' room. Any jockey or official showing signs of illness will be denied access. Jockeys that display mild cold-like symptoms may be referred to MedStar for evaluation.

Additional jockeys' quarters have been established to ensure social distancing. Female riders will utilize their same area adjacent to the Pimlico paddock, while male riders will be relocated to the second-floor clubhouse with split facilities for local and out-of-town jockeys. The jockeys' room sauna will remain closed.

All jockeys are required to wear gloves, including during races, and are required to change to clean gloves with each race. Face coverings must be worn at all times over the mouth and nose while in the jockeys' room. Jockeys, valets and officials are not allowed to gather or loiter in the room or jockey areas between races or before and after the race card.

Every employee, jockey, official and horseman are required to maintain social distancing strategies at all times, both within and outside of training and racing hours. The Maryland Department of Health recommends any Marylander returning from out of state or any out-of-state visitors to get tested for COVID-19 promptly upon arrival in or within 72 hours before travel to Maryland.

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