Beating heat biggest test for Epicenter at Preakness

No Triple Crown as Rich Strike sits out

BALTIMORE — Epicenter lost the Kentucky Derby because of a hot pace.

Now he’ll face hot temperatures in the Preakness.

Two weeks after getting passed by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike just before the finish line at the Derby, Epicenter goes into Saturday’s Preakness as the favorite and clearly the class of the nine-horse field. In a race without Rich Strike and no chance at a Triple Crown, there is still some buzz largely because of filly Secret Oath and that it will be a test of whether Epicenter can beat the heat that could approach a record high.

“You handle what you have control over and put yourself in the best position possible and try to eliminate as many variables that could get in the way of that,” Epicenter trainer Steve Asmussen said. “If it’s actually 95, 96 degrees here, and we know it can be pretty sticky when it gets warm in Baltimore, so I think that all of them are going to have to deal with that.

“He’s a big horse turning back in 14 days, so just make sure he’s drinking plenty of water and hydrated, just like your kids.”the National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius) for Saturday afternoon, with just a slight dip before the 7:01 p.m. EDT post time for the 147th running of the Preakness. The record is 96, set in 1934 when High Quest won the race.

Epicenter is the morning line 6-5 favorite to join that list of Preakness winners after finishing a tough-luck second in the Derby. Even after owner Rick Dawson decided not to run Rich Strike at Pimlico Race Course to take a swing at an unlikely Triple Crown, his upset at Churchill Downs was still the talk of the week, especially for those around the horse who was cruising to victory until he wasn’t.

“Even my 6-year-old after the race, he looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, Epicenter ran the best race,’” Epicenter owner Ron Winchell said. “He ran a great race, so the confidence level is great. But with any big race, you just hope you show up and run, and so I think if he shows up and runs, we’re in a good position.”

Kenny Mcpeek, who won the 2020 Preakness with filly Swiss Skydiver, called Epicenter “definitely the horse to beat” and said the favorite would likely need to regress for his grey 10-1 shot Creative Minister to finish first. But he and co-majority owner Greg Back felt confident enough to pony up $150,000 to enter him.

Mcpeek told Back if Creative Minister won his race on the Derby undercard, “We’ll run him anywhere you want to run him — the moon if you want.” He was fast enough to show evidence he belonged in the company of the other Preakness horses.