The Hell We Did

LAUREL, MD--Napoleon Bonaparte was reputed as saying "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools." Never was a phrase more appropriate aprospos than the lead up to Saturday's GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park. Given the absence of both the Kentucky Derby winner and runner-up, it seemed like everyone and his brother emerged on the scene to take a shot at the second leg in the Triple Crown. While several contenders may have seemed like they may have been stretching to get the distance or...

TDN's Chief Correspondent Bill Finley is joined by Senior Contributing Editor Alan Carasso and Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack to handicap Saturday's GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park. FINLEY: Honestly, it's hard to like anyone in a race that looks like it will be a mad scramble and is made up of so many horses who really aren't Triple Crown caliber. The right move is probably to go for a longshot and just hope to get lucky. The pick here will be Pretty Boy Miah (Beau Liam), who is 15-1...

The field for the GI Preakness Stakes, ranked in "likeliest winner" order (program number after each horse's name). 1) INCREDIBOLT #12 (c, Bolt d'Oro--Sapphire Spitfire, by Awesome Again). O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-Deann Baer & Greg Baer DVM (KY); T-Riley Mott. Sales history: $75,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GSW, 6-3-0-0, $498,681. Last start: 6th May 2 GI Kentucky Derby. In the GI Kentucky Derby, Incredibolt was off a beat slow, got pinched down toward the inside, then had the reins shaken at him to hustle up into a spot...

Undefeated Taj Mahal (Nyquist) has been all the rage in the lead up to the GI Preakness Stakes, and his move Saturday morning will have done nothing to cool those feelings as the Brittany Russell trainee posted his fourth consecutive bullet move. Sent out to work five furlongs with exercise rider Alex Beitia aboard, he went in company with stakes winner Regalo (Maximus Mischief) early in the morning at 6:15am. Taj Mahal cruised through splits of :12 1/5, :24 1/5, :36 2/5, and :48 flat while leading his workmate throughout....

While a decision on Golden Tempo (Curlin)'s participation in the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park is still to be determined, Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable, co-owner of the GI Kentucky Derby winner, has another colt waiting in the wings for the second leg of the Triple Crown in GIII Gotham Stakes winner Iron Honor (Nyquist). Viola co-owns the 3-year-old, most recently seventh in the GII Wood Memorial, in partnership with William Lawrence and Glassman Racing. "He's a nice, nice horse," St. Elias racing and bloodstock manager Monique...

Third in the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Keeneland's opening weekend, Talkin (Good Magic) will skip the GI Kentucky Derby and be pointed toward the GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park by trainer Danny Gargan. Eleven lengths behind 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Further Ado (Gun Runner) as that one dominated the Blue Grass, Talkin would be the trainer's chief hope for a second win in the Triple Crown series behind Dornoch, also a son of Good Magic, who claimed the GI Belmont Stakes in 2024. Gargan said...

Have a spring meeting Ben Colebrook! Trendsetter (g, 3, Modernist--Suyapa, by Astrology) came rolling down the center of the stretch to win going away at 32-1 in Saturday's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. The Hell We Did (Authentic) was second. Pacesetter Corona de Oro (Bolt d'Oro) was third. The victory adds to a huge beginning of the Keeneland meeting for Colebrook, who also saddled Percy's Bar (Upstart) to a win in last Friday's GI Central Bank Ashland S. "I wouldn't say I was surprised," Colebrook said. "I thought he...