Triple Crown | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ken McPeek Plotting Courses For Four Kentucky Derby Hopefuls

Trainer Ken McPeek has four Kentucky Derby hopefuls in his barn, his largest number in 37 years of conditioning Thoroughbreds. According to the Daily Racing Form, two of those four have become workmates: G2 Kentucky Jockey Club winner Smile Happy and G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Tiz The Bomb.

The pair has breezed in unison at Gulfstream Park for the past two weeks, both earning a four-furlong time of :48.90 on Jan. 8, and Tiz The Bomb recording a slightly-faster three-furlong time of :37.84 on New Year's Day (Smile Happy was clocked in :38.46).

Smile Happy (Runhappy) will be aimed at the G3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 5, while a prep race has not been decided upon for Tiz The Bomb (Hit It A Bomb).

Dash Attack (Munnings), winner of the Jan. 1 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park, will remain in Hot Springs to point toward the G3 Southwest Stakes on Jan. 29.

Meanwhile, G1 Breeders' Futurity winner Rattle N Roll (Connect) has not yet returned to breezing since missing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile due to a minor injury, but McPeek believes there will be plenty of time to get the colt on the Derby trail.

New York Times: Baffert Attorneys Drafting Lawsuit Against Churchill Over Derby Entry

According to a Jan. 10 report from the New York Times, embattled trainer Bob Baffert has legal counsel drafting a civil complaint seeking a preliminary injunction that would allow horses in his barn to run for roses in May.

As it stands, Churchill Downs announced last spring that Baffert-trained horses would not be permitted to earn qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, and that they would not be permitted to run in the race in 2022 or 2023. The announcement followed a press conference held by Baffert in which he revealed that Medina Spirit, who had crossed the wire first, had tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone. Baffert subsequently appeared on a number of mainstream news outlets first claiming he did not know how the substance could have gotten into the colt's body, and later saying that it came from the administration of a topical cream. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards have yet to issue a ruling in the case, although Baffert's team completed additional testing of remaining biological samples from the horse some weeks ago.

Baffert is reportedly seeking millions in damages in addition to the preliminary injunction in the civil case, which has not yet been filed.

Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill, called the prospect of a civil case “completely meritless,” pointing out that Baffert signed an agreement ahead of entering last year's race that he would follow the private company's rules regarding medication and participant conduct.

Churchill's publicity department later underlined the track's stance on the situation with the following tweet:

pic.twitter.com/I7jHY2ePo5

— Churchill Downs PR (@DerbyMedia) January 10, 2022

Preakness Art Competition To Benefit Park Heights Renaissance

1/ST and the Maryland Jockey Club have partnered with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) to launch The Art of Racing, a unique art competition to honor the second jewel of the Triple Crown Series and its impact on Baltimore. Established more than four decades ago, the relationship between the Maryland Jockey Club and MICA takes a step forward with this community-wide call for entries of original, two-dimensional visual art that depicts the unique elements of Thoroughbred horse racing and the legendary Preakness Stakes.

From today's launch until the submission deadline of March 1, 2022, artists may submit their entries to www.preakness.com/the-art-of-racing, after which all submissions will be available for public viewing. From March 2 through March 20, visitors to The Art of Racing website can cast their vote for their favorite work of art. The top 10 vote-getters will then be entered into the finalist category, with the winning piece selected by an esteemed panel of judges representing the artistic, business, philanthropic and political communities that allow Park Heights to thrive as the home of Preakness 147.

The winning artist of the inaugural competition will receive a $4,000 stipend and two tickets to Preakness 147 on May 21, 2022. In addition, their work will be reproduced on Preakness 147 merchandise with the Park Heights Renaissance as the beneficiary of all sales proceeds, which will be used to support the activities of the non-profit organization as it pursues affordable housing for families and provides employment opportunities for members of the Park Heights community.

The Art of Racing is part of the ongoing partnership between 1/ST and the Park Heights Renaissance that included honoring the late community advocate George E. Mitchell through the George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the George E. Mitchell Park Heights Community Fellowship Grant. The Art of Racing builds upon the legacy of these initiatives by recognizing and honoring individuals who, much like Mitchell himself, demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to the Park Heights community.

“The visual elements behind the Preakness Stakes captivate the imagination both on race day and year-round,” said David Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer, 1/ST. “The Art of Racing commemorates and celebrates one of the most iconic sporting events in Maryland, and nationwide. It also represents the opportunity for a modern visual interpretation of the Preakness Stakes as we redefine the sport to connect with a new generation of fans.”

“The Preakness is one of the most esteemed public events for Maryland and this inaugural competition celebrates its importance in a unique way,” said Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, the founding director of the Center for Race and Culture at MICA and a member of the judging panel for The Art of Racing.

There is an illustrious history between MICA and the Preakness Stakes that began in the 1970s when then-MICA professor Raoul Middleman led his classes in painting murals of Pimlico Race Course. The seven murals Middleman created with his students, which live in perpetuity behind the course's grandstand, provide an intimate look at a tradition defined by history and character.

“Raoul Middleman enriched the lives of his students by giving them the hands-on opportunity to experience commercial artmaking,” said Dr. Tiffany Holmes, MICA's Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. “The Art of Racing builds upon Professor Middleman's legacy by commissioning artists from MICA and across Maryland to provide their interpretations of Maryland's time-honored tradition of Thoroughbred racing.”

For more information on The Art of Racing, please visit www.preakness.com/the-art-of-racing or follow @PreaknessStakes and #Preakness on social media.

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Handal Eyeing Withers With Sharp Maiden Winner Constitutionlawyer

Perrine Time Thoroughbreds and West Paces Racing's Constitutionlawyer impressed trainer Ray Handal enough in his last out maiden victory to make the jump to graded stakes level for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The nine-furlong Withers is a qualifying race for the 2022 Kentucky Derby, offering 10-4-2-1 points to the top-four finishers.

The son of 2021 leading third-crop sire Constitution displayed different dynamics when graduating at third asking on Jan. 2 at the Big A, adding Lasix and leading gate-to-wire to win by 3 1/2 lengths while registering an 85 Beyer.

“He got a big figure the other day. We're just hopeful that it wasn't just the Lasix,” Handal said. “He ran a monster race and he's a real stayer. That's the one benefit about him. From start to finish he has a high cruising speed.”

Handal noted that Constitutionlawyer showed improvement at the gate in his maiden victory. In his previous two starts, he was placed toward the rear of the field early on and closed late to finish a respective fourth and third to next-out stakes-winners Mo Donegal in October and Courvoisier in December.

“He broke a lot better. In his first two starts, he broke with the pack and then he'd check himself out of it and get a little tardy,” Handal said. “Four days before this last race, I popped him out of the gate just to make sure he was sharp and could do what he needed to do. He broke super on race day, and he was able to do whatever Dylan [Davis] needed for him to do that day.”

Constitutionlawyer, a $170,000 purchase from the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Lawyer Ron mare Lawyer Brockmeyer.

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