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Clancy, Smith Named Media Preakness Award Winners

Patrick Smith of Getty Images and Joe Clancy of ST Publishing Inc. will be recognized this weekend for outstanding journalism coverage of the 2020 GI Preakness S.

Smith, a staff photographer at Getty, has been named recipient of the Jerry Frutkoff Photographer Award for his photo of Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver and GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic coming down the stretch of the 145^th Preakness.

“I loved the facial expression of [Robby] Albarado as he went nose-to-nose with the filly to defeat the Kentucky Derby winner,” Smith said. “All the excitement we dream of when photographing racing was there.”

Clancy was named recipient of the David F. Woods Memorial Award for his story of the 2020 Preakness entitled 'Force of the Filly,' in the November 2020 edition of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred. Clancy also received the Woods in 2015 and 2017.

“I was kicking around the Pimlico barn area the day before the Preakness, taking notes, talking to people,” Clancy said. “The place felt empty, a little strange due to the Covid restrictions on attendance and media access. It was October, not May. And then I saw Kenny McPeek hosing Swiss Skydiver's legs outside the barn and thought of all the horses I hosed when I worked in my father's barn. I wandered over, said hello, fed the filly a mint or two and Kenny and I talked horses for a while. It was amazing. I remember walking away hoping she would win so I could write about it. She had to come through on the track and did she ever. The battle with Authentic was just what the 2020 Preakness needed and it was an honor to tell her story.”

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Calm After the Storm

Baltimore, MD–The leadup to this year's GI Preakness S. has proven anything but routine with news of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for Betamethasone following his GI Kentucky Derby win two weeks ago. However, just two days before the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the vibe around the Stakes Barns on Pimlico's back side had a decidedly more business-as-usual feel rather than a Classic-week electric charge.

El Camino Real Derby winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., and Keepmeinmind (Laoban), last season's GII Kentucky Jockey Club victor, were among the initial horses to go to the track prior to the renovation break. The bigger influx of stakes contenders appeared when the track re-opened at about 7:45, led the Wayne Lukas-trained Ram (American Pharoah).

“Coming here, you hope to see a good level of energy,” said Lukas. “I'm watching how focused he is and how much energy he has. When you make a nine-hour van ride [from Louisville, Kentucky], you want to see if he is adjusting and to make sure he's eating and that he's showing that on the racetrack. That's my primary concern. I want to make sure he has a good energy level Saturday and I see it increasing every day. Today was better than yesterday, and yesterday was better than the first day. We're in good shape.”

Asked whether his charge's come-from-behind running style was a good fit for Saturday's race, Lukas, a six-time Preakness winner, said, “They often say this race is speed favoring, but I haven't really found it to be that way except for Oxbow [2013 Preakness winner], who took off and they let him have the lead. But overall, I think it's a fair race. The track plays really fair. If you have a good closer or a mid-pack type of horse, I think it's fair for everybody. I don't think you have to have a certain type of horse to win this race.”

Coming out shortly after the morning line longshot, GIII Lecomte S. winner Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) looked a picture of health (hello dapples!) shortly after departing the Stakes Barn, drawing plenty of praise from the small group of onlookers.

“Hey Steve, your horse is my favorite,” yelled a spectator as the colt's trainer, Steve Asmussen, made his way to the track.

“He's my favorite too!,” shouted back the Hall of Famer. “Add my name to the list!”

Most of the morning's attention swirled around the Baffert-trained pair of Medina Spirit, who was the first of the two Bafferts to hit the track, followed by Concert Tour (Street Sense).

Accompanied by Jimmy Barnes astride the barn's pony, the striking Medina Spirit appeared to get over the track very well while held under an easy gallop. About 30 minutes later, barnmate Concert Tour, winner of the GII Rebel S. and GII San Vincente S., was led out to the track by Barnes for some easy maintenance work. Baffert, who has been under fire the past week, is not expected to attend this weekend's race.

Other Preakness contenders sent to the track after the renovation break, GII Wood Memorial S. third Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), GIII Withers S. scorer Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) and Unbridled Humor (Honor Code), runner-up in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Both Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher are expected to be on-hand in Baltimore Friday.

Always a big draw in the mornings, bath time for Medina Sprint and Midnight Bourbon, who both appeared in top form, drew a gaggle of media looking for a photo opp. Both colts made a striking impression, not only for their glowing health, but also for their cool and relaxed demeanor in the face of the photo-hungry press.

Noticeably absent from Thursday's a.m. trackwork, France Go de Ina (Will Take Charge) was relegated to walking around the shedrow yesterday following his solo sojourn after losing his rider Wednesday morning. The Japanese-based colt will return to the track Friday morning and is also expected to school at the gate.

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Colonial Downs Meet to Begin July 19

A total of 25 stakes races worth more than $2.7 million will be offered at the upcoming seven-week Thoroughbred racing season at Colonial Downs–from July 19 through Sept. 1–featuring a minimum $500,000 in average daily purses and the GIII $250,000 New Kent County Virginia Derby Aug. 31.

The 2021 meeting will be scheduled every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with daily first post time at 1:45 p.m. ET. All Colonial Downs races will be televised on TVG.

Colonial Downs welcomes back fans to this year's 21-day meeting with free admission.

“Since we announced our race dates and purse program for the 2021 season, response from horsemen across the country has been extremely positive,” said Jill Byrne, Vice President of Racing Operations. “Our lucrative daily purse structure, attractive horsemen incentives, two fantastic racing surfaces and a varied stakes program, are key ingredients to launching an exciting and successful race meet. We are also very excited that this year's meet is open again to fans, who can enjoy the thrill of the live racing experience.”

Frank Petramalo, Virginia HBPA Executive Director, added, “Virginia's horse owners and trainers are delighted to see an increase to seven weeks of racing with great purses. We can't wait to break out of the gate for a successful summer meet.”

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THA’s Alan Foreman Joins All-Baffert Controversy Writers’ Room

Normally, the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland aims to touch on a wide variety of industry issues every week. But there was only one story worth discussing this week, so the writers broke down every angle of the explosive controversy surrounding Bob Baffert and the failed drug test of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. They also welcomed Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Chairman and CEO and prominent industry lawyer Alan Foreman as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about what happens now for Baffert from a legal standpoint.

“I think it's important for people to understand that there are two layers here,” Foreman said about the fallout of this week. “This is a state regulatory matter and the regulation is done by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. What Churchill Downs did [banning Baffert from the entry box] was more of a public relations stand to protect the Kentucky Derby brand that they covet. Tracks have the common law right to exclude anyone they want, but when you're dealing with licensees, it isn't as broadly based as you would think it is. There's quite a body of law with respect to the exclusion of licensees and what should be appropriate circumstances. The question here legally would be if Bob Baffert and his team wanted to challenge it, whether Churchill Downs really has the right to do so under the circumstances. This is a routine medication violation. If they're going to ban Bob Baffert, do you ban every horseman who has some medication violation?”

Asked about the frequent public appearances by Baffert to talk about a situation that's still being litigated, particularly his revelation Tuesday that Medina Spirit was treated with a cream that contained betamethasone, Foreman said, “I don't know what their strategy is. I don't know if this is what Bob wanted to do or if he was under advice to do it. The information that came out [Tuesday] changes the whole landscape. The first thing that you do if you're a trainer and you're notified of a positive test, is ask your personnel and veterinarian, do we have betamethasone in the barn? You would know that fairly quickly, you wouldn't know it 48 to 96 hours after the fact. You certainly wouldn't go on television and say, 'I don't use the stuff. We don't have it in the barn. I don't know how it got there. It's everybody else's fault.' That's basic stuff. So the strategy makes no sense to me and I certainly wouldn't counsel my clients that way.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and new sponsor Legacy Bloodstock, the writers called out the decisions and behavior that led to the embarrassment this past week has brought racing, debated what can be done now and reacted to the decision to allow Medina Spirit's entry in the Preakness. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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