The Grade 2, $200,000 Nassau Stakes will be run at Woodbine on Saturday. Solid Appeal won her maiden and an allowance on turf here last year and ended her campaign with a solid fourth in the Grade 2 Mrs.
First, I want to congratulate Gary Stevens for a fantastic ride in the Preakness. He put all the other jockeys to sleep and cruised to victory. With that said, it’s disappointing that we will go another year without a potential Triple Crown winner. If Orb had won the Preakness, there would have been some great momentum for the sport of horse racing over the next several weeks.
The 2013 running of the Preakness Stakes features a moderate size field of 9 that will be running 1-3/16 miles this Saturday at Pimlico. Headlining the field, of course, is Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner who will break from the rail and is clearly the one to beat until someone else proves otherwise.
The Grade 2, $300,000 Dixie Stakes at Pimlico on Saturday at 1-1/8 miles on grass has a very well balanced and competitive field featuring a large group of 13 runners. Wilcox Inn tops the field following his runner-up finish to Amira's Prince in the Grade 2 Mervin Muniz Handicap at Fair Grounds in his last start.
Remember the excitement when we all looked forward to the head-to-head competition that was supposed to happen between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexander? And, how disappointing it was that the match-up between the two just didn't happen? Well, now the excitement is that Rachel Alexander has entered our breeding shed!
This Saturday, May 18, Kentucky Derby winner Orb will step onto the track at Pimlico Race Course to compete in the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Orb may just be the real deal. He's been working brilliantly and should love the track.
The G3 $100,000 Senorita at Hollywood Park on Saturday features eight 3-year-old fillies running 1 mile on the grass. Scarlet Strike drew the outside and just won the G3 Providencia last month. Charlie Em comes from Europe and has 3 wins in 8 starts.
The G2 $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes for 3-year-olds Saturday at Belmont Park features 11 runners. Some of the top contenders include Abraham who finished a solid fourth in the Illinois Derby. Declan's Warrior recently took the G3 7 furlong Bayshore, getting up to win late. He looks like he might be able to get the distance.
There have been several conversations where players mentioned that there were not enough General Tournaments at the classic distances (8.5 to 10 furlongs). We have built new tournaments, and should have them published by Friday, that will go into the automatic generation program for General Tournaments.
The 139th running of the $2,000,000 Kentucky Derby once again features a full field of 20 runners. We are providing two simulations of the Derby - one on a fast track and one on a sloppy track - so our VIPs can catch the action in both scenarios.
The $1,000,000 Kentucky Oaks on Friday features a cast of 11 led by Dreaming of Julia who just ran a monster race in the Gulfstream Park Oaks winning it by an incredible 21 lengths - if she can duplicate that, then the field will be at her mercy.
The $500,000 G1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at 1 1/8 at Churchill promises an outstanding race between two outstanding horses, Horse of the Year Wise Dan and four-time G1 turf winner Point of Entry.
The $300,000 Snow Chief Stakes features eight three-year-old colts going 1 1/8 miles at Hollywood Park. Tiz A Minister came flying for third in the G2 San Felipe two back before running a subpar race in the Santa Anita Derby. He is the class of this field.
