Preakness Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Un Ojo Out of Preakness

Un Ojo (Laoban), upset winner of the GII Rebel S. earlier this year, will not be running in Saturday's GI Preakness S. as he continues to deal with a foot bruise which kept him out of the GI Kentucky Derby.

“This morning his foot was a little warm again,” trainer Ricky Courville told the Preakness media team. “The vets went over him, and he's not 100%. I'm dealing with the same thing. I guess the work [Saturday] kind of re-aggravated it.”

In addition to the defection of Un Ojo, Pimlico officials announced the possible addition of Villa Rosa Farm and Harlo Stable's Fenwick (Curlin) to the Preakness field. Trained by Kevin McKathan, the colt was a maiden winner at Tampa Bay Downs before finishing 11th in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S.

The post position draw for the Preakness will be held Monday afternoon.

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Epicenter Sitting on Go for Preakness

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter (Not This Time) remained on target for Saturday's GI Preakness S. after a 1 1/2-mile gallop at Churchill Downs Sunday morning.

“He seems to be pretty sharp,” Scott Blasi, who oversees trainer Steve Asmussen's Churchill division, said of the GI Kentucky Derby runner-up and likely Preakness favorite. “I love how he's doing. He galloped today like that was nothing; walked off the track with good energy. We'll put a little work in him and go. Not much to do from here on out…. [but] win.”

Epicenter had the lead in midstretch of the Derby before being passed by 80-1 longshot Rich Strike (Keen Ice).

Asked if the defeat stung, Blasi said, “If you don't learn to turn the page in this game, you're going to be a miserable human. What's done is done. Move on.”

Epicenter is expected to have an easy half-mile work at Churchill Monday before vanning to Baltimore Tuesday.

Asmussen won the Preakness in 2007 with 2007-2008 Horse of the Year Curlin and in 2009 with Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra.

Un Ojo (Laoban), upset winner of the GII Rebel S., missed the Kentucky Derby with a foot bruise, but was declared on track for the Preakness following a five-furlong work in 1:02 Saturday at Churchill Downs.

“The next day after we didn't enter [the Derby], he was pretty good,” trainer Ricky Courville said by phone from his Copper Crowne Training Center base in Opelousas, Louisiana Sunday. “We were soaking the foot a couple of days and Tuesday morning he got really good. We just gave him the rest of the week, soaking it, making sure, and went on and sent him back to the track Derby morning. He's been training since. It was just unfortunate. Monday [entry day] he wasn't 100%; Tuesday he was.”

Calumet Farm's Happy Jack (Oxbow) will be getting blinkers back on for the Preakness following his 14th-place effort in the Kentucky Derby.

“In the Derby, you're trying to navigate 1 1/4 miles against 19 other horses,” trainer Doug O'Neill, who won the Preakness in 2012 with I'll Have Another, said. “By taking the blinkers off, I thought it would give him a chance to get a little breather.”

Happy Jack wore the blinkers in his first career start and broke his maiden at Santa Anita Jan. 22. O'Neill kept them on in the Feb. 6 GIII Robert B. Lewis and the colt finished last in the field of five, beaten 27 1/4 lengths. The hood came off in the Mar. 5 GII San Felipe S. and Happy Jack was third, beaten 10 1/2 lengths. They were back on in the GI Santa Anita Derby and he was third again, finishing 12 1/4 lengths behind Taiba (Gun Runner).

“He is kind of a grinder,” O'Neill said. “I think he has to be more involved early. Hopefully, with a shorter field, a better post position and with the blinkers on, he can be more forwardly placed. He's a trier and a stayer, and I think he can make up more ground more forwardly placed.”

Happy Jack galloped at Churchill Sunday morning and is scheduled to arrive at Pimlico Tuesday.

“Knock on wood, he's doing well,” O'Neill said.

The post-position draw for Friday's GII Black-Eyed Susan S. and Saturday's GI Preakness S. will be streamed live Monday from Citron beginning at 4:30 p.m. on: www.facebook.com/Preakness/ and twitter.com/preaknessstakes/. In Spanish, go to: https://youtube.com/HipicaTV/live.

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Beyond the Wire Earns MJC Award of Merit

Beyond the Wire, a Maryland-based Thoroughbred aftercare program, will be honored with the Maryland Jockey Club's Special Award of Merit during the Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Thursday.

The Special Award of Merit is presented to those who have made a positive impact on the racing industry. Past winners include Hall of Fame horsemen D. Wayne Lukas, Jerry Bailey, Ramon Dominguez and King Leatherbury; late Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim McKay, founder of the Maryland Million; and MJC track photographer Jim McCue.

“We are honored and really appreciate the recognition, as the program has been a big effort on the part of the Maryland racing industry,” Beyond the Wire's program administrator Jessica Hammond said. “Hopefully, the award will also provide an additional spotlight on the importance of aftercare.”

Launched in 2017, Beyond the Wire reached a milestone in mid-March when 5-year-old gelding Bundi Bundi trained by Pedro Nasario became the 500th horse to move through the program. Hammond said they have since added another 20 horses.

“It's a busy, busy program,” Hammond said. “The good news is that it shows that trainers are prioritizing a good aftercare program for their horses. People are even foregoing getting money for their horses so that they know that they are going to have a safe and secure retirement. Instead of risking having a horse end up in a bad spot, trainers are saying let me just retire them through Beyond the Wire.”

Beyond the Wire is an industry-wide initiative between the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Maryland Jockey Club, 1/ST Racing, Northview Stallion Station, Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland jockeys. The organization is a first exit from racing program designed to facilitate safe and enriching placements for retiring Maryland-based racehorses.

Annual pledges and donations, and owners' contributions of $11 per start, enables Beyond the Wire to place retired Thoroughbreds exclusively with Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited farms. Horses that go through the program receive retraining and rehabilitation as needed.

Partner farms are MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, Foxie G Foundation, New Vocations, Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue, After the Races, Equine Rescue of Aiken and Life Horse.

Beyond the Wire will have an information table set up during the Sunrise at Old Hilltop tours which run from 6-9 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. For more information on the program, visit: www.beyondthewire.org.

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Early Voting Puts in Final Preakness Prep

GII Wood Memorial S. runner-up Early Voting (Gun Runner) put in his final breeze ahead of the upcoming GI Preakness S. Friday morning at Belmont Park, going five panels in 1:00.63 in company with SW Miles D (Curlin).

Under jockey Jose Ortiz, The Chad Brown pupil went three-eighths in :36.40 before completing the five furlong move in 1:00.63 and galloping out six furlongs in 1:13 flat over the fast main track.

“He hit the times just as I wanted and he galloped out super,” Brown said of Early Voting. “If he comes out of the breeze in good shape, then he's on to Pimlico. Tentatively, I'm thinking of shipping the horse on Tuesday.”

Early Voting skipped the GI Kentucky Derby in favor of this spot. Brown made a similar move with the Klaravich co-owned Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) after he finished third in the Wood.

“There's a lot of similarities,” Brown said. “They both are lightly-raced, improving horses that are coming out of the Wood and could use a little more time and experience rather than throw them into a 20-horse field in the Derby.”

Miles D is slated for the GIII Pimlico Special S. Friday.

“Miles D worked inside, he's actually a little better outside, but it set it up that way today,” said Brown. “He got a lot of the work this morning. He missed a little time because he got sick before the Oaklawn Handicap, so we missed that race. He should appreciate the distance of the Pimlico Special.”

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