Derby winner will race in Preakness
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Always Dreaming is set to compete in the Preakness Stakes in two weeks, when the Kentucky Derby winner is likely to face several fresh horses that skipped the first leg of the Triple Crown.
A majority of the 20-horse field that ran Saturday on a sloppy Churchill Downs track won’t go on to Baltimore. Trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday that Always Dreaming will head there Tuesday so the 3-year-old colt has plenty of time to adjust to his new surroundings ahead of the 1 3/16-mile race that will be run May 20.
“At Pimlico, there’s generally not a lot of horses training there,” he said. “It will be a quiet environment, give us time to get him settled in, and if we have to make any adjustments, we’ll have time to do that.”
Always Dreaming will take up residence in stall No. 40, which traditionally houses the Kentucky winner in the Pimlico stakes barn.
The dark bay colt prevailed by 2 3/4 lengths Saturday as Pletcher, 49, and jockey John Velazquez, 45, each won the race for the second time overall but first time together. Pletcher was still sorting through hundreds of congratulatory text messages Sunday, including from Hall of Fame basketball coach Lute Olson and Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.
No horse asserted his dominance in the winter prep races leading up to the 143rd Kentucky Derby. Always Dreaming certainly commands respect as the winner but isn’t scaring away the competition in the Preakness.
The field for the second leg of the Triple Crown is capped at 14 — six fewer than the Derby.
“There’s not that much separation from this bunch of 3-year-olds right now, from what I can see, other than maybe the winner yesterday,” said trainer Ken McPeek, who is pointing Lexington Stakes winner Senior Investment toward the Preakness Stakes.
Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee and 13th-place Girvin are possibilities for the race, and if a problem with fourth-place Classic Empire’s right eye clears up, he could join them.