LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The owner of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike said the colt will not run in the Preakness Stakes.
Rick Dawson said before the Derby that the original plan was to run the eventual long-shot winner of the Derby in the Belmont Stakes and that he and trainer Eric Reed are not comfortable rushing him back into the Preakness two weeks later.
Earlier Thursday, after a long gallop at Reed's Mercury Training Center, the trainer said it looked as if they'd ship the colt to Churchill Downs on Friday with the goal of a work over the weekend and possibly shipping to Baltimore on Monday.
But Thursday afternoon, the colt's owner said otherwise.
"Obviously, with our tremendous effort and win in the Derby it's very, very tempting to alter our course and run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group," Dawson said. "However, after much discussion and consideration with my trainer, Eric Reed and a few others, we are going to stay with our plan of what's best for Ritchie is what's best for our group, and pass on running in the Preakness, and point toward the Belmont in approximately 5 weeks."
It's the second time in four years that the Derby winner on the track will skip the Preakness. Country House did not run in the Preakness — nor ever again — after winning the Derby via disqualification in 2020. The explanation was a post-race illness. Prior to that, the previous Derby winner to miss the Preakness was Grindstone in 1996, when he was retired immediately after the Derby because of bone chips in a knee. In 1985, Spend a Buck skipped the Preakness to compete in the $2 million opening of Garden State Park in New Jersey. In 1982, Gato del Sol was not entered in the Preakness because of the quick two-week turnaround from the Derby.
Steve Asmussen's Epicenter already had been tabbed as the favorite for the May 21 second jewel of the Triple Crown by Las Vegas oddsmakers. On Wednesday, D. Wayne Lukas told track officials he would send Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath into the Preakness.
Dawson said Thursday that he and Reed had been discussing their plans for the horse, which originally were made when they thought he'd miss the Derby and never really anticipated the eventuality that he'd actually win the Derby.
"Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the Kentucky Derby," Dawson said. "Should we not run in the Derby, we would point toward the Preakness. Should we run in the Derby — subject to the race outcome and the condition of our horse — we would give him more recovery time and rest and run in the Belmont or another race and stay on course to run with five or six weeks rest between races."
Reed said the day after the Derby and had continually maintained that the team wanted to run the colt in the Derby but that it would be a departure from their usual mode of operation, and would depend on how they felt about the colt's status.
"I don't like running quick," Reed said Sunday. "This will be the first time we've had to do that if this is where it goes. But that's why he's been so fresh and getting better each race. We haven't pushed on him. I don't get these horses, 10 or 12 in your life, I get one in a lifetime so I've got to protect him. I'd like him to be here in a couple of years and not just have a few races and have something go wrong."
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