The Triple Crown season has already had a high attrition rate when it comes to scratches in the days prior to the big races, so when Kentucky Derby winner and overwhelming Preakness Stakes favorite Mage's name started getting passed around the grounds at Pimlico Race Course, anxiety was understandably high.
Fortunately, Mage's scratch was of the superficial variety.
The colt suffered a cut above his right eye after bumping his head in his stall on Thursday at Pimlico, and after a few stitches, he is set for Saturday afternoon's race with no interruptions.
The story was reported by BloodHorse on Saturday morning, and confirmed by co-owner Ramiro Restrepo on social media.
Restrepo said in his social media post that Mage was treated by the Maryland state veterinarian, and the issue did not interfere with the Good Magic colt's training schedule.
Restrepo further confirmed that Mage has been reviewed by the state veterinarians in the days after he received the stitches, and the colt will be ready to race.
Mage will face a field of seven in the Preakness, following Friday morning's scratch of Grade 3 Lexington Stakes winner and second choice on the morning line First Mission following a hind-leg issue that trainer Brad Cox and a team of veterinarians couldn't nail down in time for the race. First Mission will head to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky for further evaluation.
Without the horse expected to soak up much of the betting pool that didn't go to Mage, one would expect the Derby winner would be an insurmountable favorite on the tote board, but his odds have actually floated up to 2-1, as of 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
No horse was higher than double-digit odds through the late morning, with Mage's closest competitor being West Coast-based National Treasure. Breaking from the inside post, the son of Quality Road finished third in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and he enters the Preakness off a fourth-place effort in the G1 Santa Anita Derby.
Rounding out the field, from the inside, is Chase the Chaos (7-1), Mage (2-1), Coffeewithchris (8-1), Red Route One (6-1), Perform (7-1), and Blazing Sevens (9-2).
A sunny day is unlikely for this year's Preakness. The sky was overcast through the late morning, and The Weather Channel lists a 59 percent chance of rain in Baltimore, Md., around the race's 7:01 p.m. post time.
For horseplayers seeking entries with prior success over a wet track, only Blazing Sevens breaking from the outside post has won a race on a main track not rated “fast.”
The Preakness undercard will be broadcast on CNBC from 1 p.m. Eastern to 4:30 p.m., then coverage switches to the flagship NBC from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The races can also be streamed on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and on Peacock.
The post With New Stitches, Mage Continues Chase For History In Preakness Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
