RICH STRIKE NO TRIPLE THREAT
Long shot Kentucky Derby winner won’t run in Preakness, owner says
Rich Strike will not run in the Preakness after his major upset to win the Kentucky Derby, keeping horse racing from having a Triple Crown winner for a fourth consecutive year.
Owner Rich Dawson made the stunning announcement Thursday, 10 days before the race in Maryland.
Dawson said he and trainer Eric Reed agreed to stick with the initial plan for Rich Strike and rest him for five weeks. Rich Strike, at 80-1, was the biggest long shot to win the Derby in more than a century. Only Donerail in 1913 paid more to win.
The plan now is to have Rich Strike ready to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 11. Dawson said it was wise for the colt to get extra rest and not face a short, two-week turnaround at Pimlico.
“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 in a news release. “However, after much discussion and consideration … we are going to stay with our plan of what’s best for Ritchie.
“We thank the wonderful Preakness and Pimlico folks that have reached out and very much appreciate the invite.”
Reed did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Rich Strike was not expected to be the morning line favorite for the Preakness, with Derby runner-up Epicenter and Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath set to be part of the field. He could have been the first Derby winner not to go off as the Preakness post time favorite since 2012 when I’ll Have Another won the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
With Rich Strike’s surprise withdrawal, the Preakness will go on without the official Derby champion for the second time in four years. Country House and disqualified winner Maximum Security skipped the race in 2019.
Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit finished third in the 2021 Preakness after testing positive for a substance not allowed on race day in post-Derby testing. Mandaloun, who was elevated to the 2021 Derby win long after Medina Spirit tested positive, did not run in the Preakness last year.
Rich Strike’s incredible charge past the leaders down the stretch at Churchill Downs after not being in the Derby field became one of the biggest upsets in sports. The owners, Reed and jockey Sonny Leon had all never won the race.
Adding to the impressive tale, Rich Strike had only one once before and had been claimed for $30,000 — pennies in racing and unlikely for Derby-caliber horses.
Neither Reed nor the Maryland Jockey Club immediately responded to a messages seeking comment.
CAPPELLETTI DIES
Gino Cappelletti, a former AFL Most Valuable Player and original member of the Boston Patriots who was part of the franchise for five decades as a player, coach and broadcaster, has died. He was 89.
Cappelletti died Thursday at his home in Wellesley, Massachusetts. His death was announced by the New England Patriots on Thursday. No cause of death was given.
“My heart aches after learning of Gino
Cappelletti’s passing this morning. For the first 51 years of this franchise’s history, Gino contributed as an all-star player, assistant coach and broadcaster. You couldn’t be a Patriots fan during that era and not be a fan of Gino’s,” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “As great of a player as he was, he was an even better person and storyteller.”
Known as “The Duke,” Cappelletti played receiver and kicker and scored the first regular-season points in AFL history, a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter of the Patriots’ 1310 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sept. 9, 1960.
He went on to be the league’s MVP in 1964 and was one of three players to play in every game in the AFL’s 10-year history, along with Jim Otto and George Blanda.
Cappelletti spent his entire career in Boston from 1960-70, ending it as the AFL’s all-time leader in points (1,100) and field goals (170). He was honored as the second Patriots player inducted into the team’s hall of fame in 1992, joining guard John Hannah.
SINGLES ON 1ST PITCH OF CAREER
Rylan Bannon became just the third Baltimore player since 2000 to get a hit on the first pitch of his big league career, Jorge Mateo and Anthony Bemboom homered and the Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Thursday.
Bannon a 26-year-old third baseman, was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game and singled on a changeup from Steven Matz (3-3) with two outs in the second inning, one batter after Mateo homered to put the Orioles ahead.