Kentucky Derby Blog

Kentucky Derby 2010 Winner Super Saver was the favorite to win the Preakness Stakes, but luck was not on his side as he finished in eighth place, luck in fact was Lookin at Lucky who on May 15 became the 135th Preakness Stakes winner.

Trained by Bob Baffert Lookin at Lucky had an awesome race when he finished the 1 3/16 miles in just 1:55:47 just 3/4 length ahead of First Dude.

The other positions were the third place of Jackson Ben, 4th Yawanna Twist, 5th Dublin, 6th Paddy O’Prado, 7th Caracortado, 8th Super Saver, 9th Schoolyard Dreams, 10th Aikenite, 11th Pleasant Prince, and 12th Norther Giant.

Preakness Payouts

$2 Exacta 7-11 $188.60
$2 Trifecta 7-11-6 $2,771.00
$2 Superfecta 7-11-6-5 $17,126.00

The 2010 Preakness post positions were drawn today. Kentucky Derby hero Super Saver was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite Wednesday in a field of 12 entered for Saturday’s 135^th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.

Lookin At Lucky, whose chances as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby were severely compromised when he drew the No. 1 post position, will attempt to rebound in the Preakness from the No. 7 post position. The 2009 juvenile champion, who will be ridden for the first time by Martin Garcia, was rated second in the morning line at 3-1.

1. Aikenite (20-1)

2. Schoolyard Dreams (15-1)

3. Pleasant Prince (20-1)

4. Northern Giant (30-1)

5. Yawanna Twist (30-1)

6. Jackson Bend (12-1)

7. Lookin at Lucky (3-1)

8. Super Saver (5-2)

9. Caracortado (10-1)

10. Paddy O’Prado (9-2)

11. First Dude (20-1)

12. Dublin (10-1)

Here are the 14 starters of 2010 Preakness Stakes. The post position will be drawn this Wednesday.

Woodlawn Vase
The elegant Woodlawn Vase, originally created by Tiffany and Company in 1860 as a trophy for the now defunct Woodlawn Racing Association in Louisville, is presented annually to the Preakness winner.

The beautiful silver design assessed in 1983 for $1 million, is easily the most valuable trophy in American sports.

Black-Eyed Susans
It remains a long-standing tradition to present the winner of the Preakness a blanket of Black-Eyed Susans, which is draped across the shoulders of the winning horse. The blanket is 18 inches wide and 90 inches in length.

Alibi Breakfast
It started with a cup of coffee. In the late 1930s on the porch of the historical Pimlico Clubhouse, a group of trainers, owners and greater and lesser dignitaries would gather in the mornings to expound upon the merits of their horses.

The group would meet at the first training period starting at 6:00AM and disperse when training ended at 10:00AM Notable trainers such as Yancey Christmas and
Horatio Luro would swap information with other gentlemen in the morning, offering no alibis, but telling some of the best racing stories to ever reach print.

Today’s Alibi Breakfast is a descendant of the original gathering at the Old Clubhouse. Named in the 1940s by publicity director David Woods, today’s Alibi
Breakfast features a gathering of media, owners, trainers, jockeys and horsemen to celebrate Preakness, and solicit interesting race predictions.

Fourteen horses will line up at the starting gate at Pimlico Race Course in just over a week for the $1 million Preakness Stakes.

Of course 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver will be in the starting gate for the 2010 Preakness Stakes and the Triple Crown hopeful is likely to go off as the race favorite after his impressive performance at Churchill Downs. The Preakness Stakes is a shorter race and it will be interesting to see how he does if the weather is nicer at Pimlico than it was for the Kentucky Derby.

Ice Box, the second-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, will bypass the Preakness Stakes and move to the Belmont Stakes.

Bob Baffert could have two starters, if both Lookin At Lucky and Conveyance go.

Pletcher also is expected to have a second runner in the race in Aikenite, who was second in the Derby Trial but bypassed the Derby.

In addition to Aikenite, there are several newcomers to the Triple Crown trail expected for the Preakness.

Hurricane Ike, the Derby Trial winner, is possible for the race, said trainer John Sadler, who said his status would be determined after a workout that was scheduled for Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.

Sadler said his Derby runners - Sidney’s Candy, who finished 17th, and Line of David, who was 18th - are both returning to California and will “be given a breather.”

Pleasant Prince, third in the Derby Trial, also is expected to run in the Preakness. He was entered in the Derby, but was one of two excluded from the field because of insufficient earnings in graded stakes races.

Other new shooters include Caracortado, a troubled fourth in the Santa Anita Derby; Schoolyard Dreams, most recently fourth in the Wood Memorial; and Turf Melody, who was fourth in the Illinois Derby.

A Little Warm, who was a possible Preakness runner, has been fighting a temperature since shipping last week from Florida to Delaware Park and is not currently under consideration for the race, trainer Tony Dutrow said Monday.

In his first trip to the track since his victory in the first leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday, WinStar Farm’s homebred Super Saver looked like anything but a tired horse as he jogged an easy mile over the Churchill Downs strip Wednesday morning.

“He came out of it well; I’m actually surprised how well,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddled his first Derby winner in Super Saver. “It’s always tough when you have to run back (in the Preakness) on short rest, but all the signs we’re seeing are very positive.”

Super Saver is scheduled to head to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes on a flight on May 12, but just who will be alongside the son of Maria’s Mon is to be determined.

The Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, is the largest single day sporting event in the state of Maryland with attendance figures topping six-figures in eight of the last 10 years, including a record 121,263 in 2007.

The Preakness Stakes will be held at Pimlico Racecourse at May 15, 2010. The Gates Open at 8AM EST and the First Race Post Time is 10:30AM. The Preakness Post Time is 6:05PM EST.

Starting post positions for the 135th Preakness Stakes will be drawn Wednesday afternoon, May 12, 2010. Pimlico racing officials will use a pill pull, which employs a small numbered ball in a blind draw, to decide post positions for the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown. HRTV will broadcast it.

The Preakness post position draw is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Pimlico’s Turfside Terrace. Connections will be available for media interviews immediately following the draw.

NBC Sports exclusive coverage of the Preakness begins at 4:30 p.m. Post time for the middle leg of the Triple Crown is 6:15.

Race Details:
Distance: 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs)
Track: Dirt, Left-handed
Qualification: 3-year-old
Weight: Colt/Gelding - 126 lb (57.2 kg), Filly - 121 lb (54.9 kg)
Purse: US$1.1 million

Last year’s winner was Calvin Borel on Rachel Alexandra. Watch the 2009 Preakness race replay

The owners of fifth-place Derby finisher Recapturetheglory have decided to contest the 2008 Preakness Stakes, making him the only Derby horse other than Big Brown who will continue on to the 2nd Triple Crown race.

These are confirmed 2008 Preakness Contenders.

Behindatthebar
Trainer: Todd Pletcher Jockey: David Flores
Owner: Padua Stables

Big Brown
Trainer: Richard Dutrow, Jr. Jockey: Kent Desormeaux
Owner: IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr., et al

Giant Moon
Trainer: Richard E. Schosberg Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
Owner: Albert Fried, Jr.

Kentucky Bear
Trainer: Reade Baker Jockey: Jamie Theriot
Owner: Bear Stables

Racecar Rhapsody
Trainer: Kenny McPeek Jockey: Robby Albarado
Owner: Jerry Carroll, Stan Kaplan, Ronald Plattner, and Mark Guilfoyle

Recapturetheglory
Trainer: Louie J. Roussel III Jockey: E.T. Baird
Owner: Louie J. Roussel III & Ronald Lamarque

Stevil
Trainer: Nick Zito Jockey: John Velazquez
Owner: Robert LaPenta

Tres Borrachos
Trainer: Beau Greely Jockey: Tyler Baze
Owner: Phil Houchens and Beau and John Greely IV

Yankee Bravo
Trainer: Paddy Gallagher Jockey: Alex Solis
Owner: Harlequin Ranches, Bienstock, Winner, & Duggan