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7 Preakness Stakes Entries Confirmed Including Big Brown

With the 2008 Preakness Stakes eleven days away, Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown faces new challenges in the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course on May 17.

As of May 6, there were 7 confirmed Preakness entries for Maryland’s signature event: Big Brown; Behindatthebar; Giant Moon; Kentucky Bear; Stevil; Tres Borrachos and Yankee Bravo along with four other potential runners: Harlem Rocker, Macho Again, Riley Tucker and Recapturetheglory.

Trained by Rick Dutrow for owners IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr., Big Brown is scheduled to return to the track in the morning to jog and resume galloping on Thursday at Churchill Downs.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who won five riding titles at Pimlico from 1987 to 1989, has the mount on Big Brown in the Preakness. The Hall of Fame jockey has had 10 career Preakness mounts, including a victory aboard Real Quiet in 1998.Big Brown will be arriving in Baltimore a week from tomorrow on a flight that is scheduled to land at 5:45 p.m. The son of Boundary will be stabled in Stall 40 of the Pimlico stakes barn, reserved for the Kentucky Derby winners.

Big Brown will be joined on that flight by Tres Borrachos, the 3rd-place finisher in the Arkansas Derby (gr. II) on April 12. The gelding galloped a mile and five-eighths after the renovation break at Churchill Downs Tuesday morning with Andy Durnin up.

Horse trainer Beau Greely, who owns the Ecton Park colt in partnership with John Greely IV and Phil Houchens, is scheduled to be in Louisville later Tuesday with Tres Borrachos scheduled to work Wednesday morning. Beau Greely trained Borrego, who ran seventh in the 2004 Preakness behind Smarty Jones.

Kentucky Bear will be the first of the Preakness contenders to arrive at Pimlico’s stakes barn for the Preakness. Horse trainer Reade Baker confirmed today that the son of Mr. Greeley, who finished third in the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) at Keeneland on April 12, will leave Lexington at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow for the 539 mile drive.

Kentucky Bear, who has had two consecutive bullet works in Kentucky the last two Saturday’s, is scheduled to drill at Pimlico Saturday morning, immediately after the renovation break (8:30 a.m.). Baker said this morning he is still undecided about a jockey, but leaning towards Jamie Theriot, who rode the colt in the Blue Grass.

Horse Trainer Todd Pletcher could start a pair of Preakness horses for the second consecutive year. The Eclipse Award winning conditioner will be represented by Behindatthebar, who won the Lexington Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland on April 19. The son of Forest Wildcat had a bullet five-furlong drill at Keeneland Saturday before shipping up to Pletcher’s Belmont Park barn where he will train. Jockey David Flores, who has been aboard the colt in four of his five previous starts, has the riding assignment.

“He came out of the work in good shape,” Pletcher said. “We decided to wait for the Preakness because he had run in California 16 days before the Lexington. We just felt like three races in a 30-day period were squeezing his races a little too closely together.”

Pletcher said a decision on Harlem Rocker, who captured the Withers (gr. III) on April 26, will be made after the horse breezes over the weekend. The Ontario-bred, who is unbeaten in three starts, is owned by Magna Entertainment Corp. chairman Frank Stronach, who owns Pimlico. Stronach Stables won the 2000 Preakness Stakes with Red Bullet.

“I am very pleased with what he has done up to this point,” added horse trainer Todd Pletcher. “We’ll just have to see if we feel like he is ready to take as big a step as it would be to go from the Withers to the Preakness.”

Stevil walked the shedrow at trainer Nick Zito’s barn at Churchill Downs, a day after working a half-mile in :48.60. Heather Stark, assistant to Zito, reported the Maria’s Mon colt came out of the work in good order. Zito plans to work Stevil at Churchill Downs again next week before shipping to Pimlico Tuesday, May 13.

Giant Moon will be arriving at Pimlico May 15. Today horse trainer Richard Schosberg said jockey Ramon Dominguez, who won a pair of riding titles at Pimlico in 2001, has the call on Giant Moon. The son of Giant’s Causeway won the first four races of his career including two stakes races with Dominguez aboard. Giant Moon, who finished fourth in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) on April 5, will work five-furlongs at Belmont Park, home of the 2008 Belmont Stakes, tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile in Southern California, trainer Patrick Gallagher said that California Derby winner Yankee Bravo would drill for the Preakness Stakes either tomorrow or Thursday. Since the victory, the son of Yankee Gentleman finished third, behind Pyro in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II) and fourth behind Colonel John in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I). Jockey Alex Solis, who rode 1986 Preakness winner Snow Chief, has the riding assignment.Yankee Bravo will arrive at Pimlico next Wednesday, May 14.

El Gato Malo was expected to be on that flight but Terry Finley, founder and President of West Point Thoroughbreds, announced this morning that the son of El Corredor will not run in the Preakness but instead will opt for Saturday’s Lone Star Derby (gr. III) at Lone Star Park.

“The decision certainly had to do with Big Brown’s performance,” Finley said. “We are probably going to be 8-5 in Texas and 15-1 at Pimlico. He is a gelding and we are really focused on earning with this horse so that worked into the decision. If he were a colt and eventually a stallion we probably would be headed to the Preakness.”

Finley did say that Macho Again is now possible for the Preakness, depending on field size. The winner of the April 26 Derby Trial at Churchill Downs, galloped at the Louisville oval Tuesday morning. The other option for the son of Macho Uno is the Ohio Derby (gr. II) on May 31 at Thistledown.

“We’ll see how he trains but he seems to have come out of the Derby Trial in fine fashion,” added Finley. “It is not out of the question. We’ll keep track of the Preakness field.”

A potential new shooter for the Preakness is Riley Tucker, who finished third to Behindatthebar in the Lexington. The Bill Mott trainee has finished in the money six times from seven starts. Jockey Edgar Prado, who was scheduled to ride El Gato Malo, would have the mount on Riley Tucker.

There was nothing new on Recapturetheglory, who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby, and appears to be the only runner from Saturday’s “Run For The Roses” under consideration for the Preakness. Co-owner Ronnie Lamarque said from New Orleans on Tuesday afternoon that he and trainer and co-owner Louie Roussel were “still thinking about the Preakness.”

Plans call for Recapturetheglory to remain at Churchill Downs until a decision is made on the colt’s next start.The Roussel and Lamarque team captured the Preakness 20 years ago with Risen Star.

Sixty years ago, Citation was the last Kentucky Derby winner to not face any Kentucky Derby starters in the Preakness.

The post position draw for the Preakness Stakes is Wednesday, May 14 at 5 pm. The Preakness is limited to 14 starters. Thirteen of the last 16 years have produced double-digit starters.

The 133rd running of the Preakness is on May 17. Preakness Stakes post time is 6:15 p.m.

The May 17 undercard features nine added money races, including five graded races: the $250,000 Dixie Stakes (gr. II), $150,000 Allaire duPont Breeders’ Cup Distaff (gr. II), $100,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap (gr. III) , $100,000 Gallorette Handicap (gr. III), $100,000 Hirsch Jacobs (gr. III), $100,000 Barbaro Stakes, $100,000 Baltimore City Turf Sprint, $75,000 Skipat Stakes, and the $35,000 Deputed Testamony Starter Handicap.

Edited from www.preakness.com.

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"7 Preakness Stakes Entries Confirmed Including Big Brown" was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Preakness Stakes, Stakes Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.