Preakness Stakes

A total of $100,000 in bonus money is on the table for trainers who run a minimum of five horses in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes races held during Preakness weekend, May 16 and 17, at Pimlico Race Course. Points for the trainer's bonus, which is returning to the Maryland track for the ninth year, are accumulated for finishing first (10 points), second (seven), third (five), fourth (three) and having a starter (one) in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes. The trainer with the most points will receive $50,000, second is worth $25,000,...

It was on the first Saturday in May, 2024 that Mystik Dan (Goldencents) ran the race of his life to win the GI Kentucky Derby by a nose over Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). One year and four starts later, he hasn't won again, but will hope to end the losing streak on the anniversary of his greatest triumph. On Saturday, Mystik Dan will take on seven others in the Lake Ouachita S. at Oaklawn Park. It will be his first start since he was beaten 20 3/4 lengths in the...

NBC Sports will present coverage for both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby May 2-3 on USA Network and Peacock as well as offer live streaming for all weekend races at Churchill Downs on Peacock, the outlet announced Monday afternoon. Live coverage from Churchill Downs begins with five hours of Kentucky Oaks day Friday, May 2, beginning at 1:00 p.m. on USA Network and Peacock. Derby day coverage features 10 races across 7.5 hours--five on NBC and Peacock on Saturday starting 2:30 p.m., which follows the opening 2.5 hours beginning...

The lightly raced Clever Again (American Pharoah), a sharp, front-running winner of the Hot Springs Stakes going a mile at Oaklawn Mar. 30, is pointing to the GI Preakness Stakes May 17 at Pimlico. Clever Again, a $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling, has won two of three career starts for Winchell Thoroughbreds, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. "He's a talented horse," Asmussen said. "Obviously, the measurements or rulers that we're using, the company that he's kept, which is Tiztastic (Tiz the...

A Review, By Bill Finley Whether it was 60 Minutes, the FX Network, HBO or some other programs, the television media has bludgeoned the horse racing game in recent years. The great parts of this game barely get mentioned while the programs concentrate on the ugly aspects, namely breakdowns and drugs. So it was reasonable to be worried that more of the same was on its way when Netflix announced it was producing a racing documentary called 'Race For The Crown.' But this show, which includes six episodes, isn't like...

Later this week, the 2025 class of inductees for the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame will be announced. Among the eight racehorses included as finalists on the ballot is 2004 dual Classic winner Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality). All eight of the horses have marvelous credentials--obviously, or they wouldn't be on the ballot--but if there was a Hall of Fame for the intangible, Smarty Jones would be a shoo-in at the top of the class. "I think there was this trickle-down effect in what he did that will never...

Instant Replay (c, 3, Maximum Security--Academy Gal, by Medaglia d'Oro), a very good closing third in the GII Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 22, became the first stakes winner for his second-crop sire in Saturday's Bathhouse Row S. at Oaklawn Park, a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Preakness Stakes. Favored at 3-5, the Gary and Mary West homebred raced much closer to the front this time around, chasing in fifth through fractions of :23.54 and :49.42. He began to launch while four wide on the far turn...

River Thames (Macleans's Music), who was most recently third in the GI Blue Grass Stakes, will not go in the GI Kentucky Derby and will instead use the extra two weeks off to prepare for the GI Preakness Stakes. The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. "We just felt like the Preakness gave him a little more time and it felt like that was a better spot," said Elliott Walden, the president of WinStar Farm, which co-owns the colt along with the China Horse Club....

Preak Weeks is slated to return in 2025 in a joint initiative between 1/ST and The Maryland Jockey Club. Preak Weeks will be staged in partnership with Heidi Klotzman of HeidnSeek Entertainment. Introduced in 2023, Preak Weeks provides a spotlight on Baltimore-based businesses in the lead up to the Preakness Stakes. From Apr. 28 through May 16, one of 19 participating businesses will give away A Day at the Races to Preakness 150 with a four-pack of tickets. In addition, each participating business will receive a QR code and custom...

The first two mares bred to GI Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey (Arrogate--Smart Shopping, by Smart Strike) have checked in foal, Gainesway announced Monday. Checked in foal to the new stallion are Above the Sun (Bernardini), who is owned by Three Times A Charm and is boarded at Collier Mathes's Chesapeake Farm, and stakes winner Queen of God (Paynter), who is owned and boarded at Todd and Angela Lewis's Westbrook Stables. In addition to the Preakness, Seize the Grey won the 2024 GI Pennsylvania Derby and GII Pat Day...

Just Steel (Justify), runner-up in last year's GI Arkansas Derby, continues to train towards his 4-year-old debut at Oaklawn Park, with the Mar. 29 GIII Oaklawn Mile his first major target of the season, according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Just Steel has been sidelined since suffering a condylar fracture during a fifth-place effort in the GI Preakness Stakes last May. "He's pretty versatile," Lukas said. "He could go long or short, so I've got some options. In a perfect world, if everything would fall into place, I'd like to...

The Maryland Racing Commission has approved a 2025 racing schedule that calls for Laurel and Pimlico to race just 120 days in 2025. The dates were approved at an Oct. 28 racing commission meeting. The story was first reported by the website the racingbiz.com. The number of racing dates has fluctuated in recent years, but the new schedule will mark a new era for Maryland racing. As recently as 2019 there were 174 racing dates. The dates will be divided between the state's two tracks with 114 dates at Laurel,...