Topline
Rich Strike—the longshot horse who pulled off a historic upset win at Saturday’s Kentucky Derby—won’t race at next week’s Preakness Stakes, his owner Rick Dawson announced Thursday, stopping the colt’s bid at becoming the 14th Triple Crown winner dead in its tracks.
Rich Strike and his jockey Sonny Leon in the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby.
Key Facts
Rich Strike won’t run the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore next Saturday, Dawson said in a statement, citing a desire to keep the horse healthy and committing Rich Strike to racing the Belmont Stakes in June, the last race of the Triple Crown.
Dawson said his team always planned to give Rich Strike proper “recovery time” before the Belmont, and the horse’s surprise qualification and victory at the Derby led to the decision to pull the colt from the Preakness.
Big Number
$1.86 million. That’s how much prize money Rich Strike won at the Derby.
Key Background
Dawson bought Rich Strike last year for $30,000, far less than the hundreds of thousands of dollars most other Derby competitors fetched. Rich Strike didn’t qualify for the Derby until Friday, a day before the race. Shortly after Rich Strike’s unexpected Kentucky Derby win, there was heavy speculation about whether he’d run the Preakness, and his trainer Eric Reed told Sports Illustrated earlier Thursday the colt’s Preakness fate was uncertain.
Surprising Fact
Rich Strike’s jockey, Sonny Leon, is in the midst of a four-day suspension after it was determined he raced a different horse too aggressively during a race last month. The suspension would not have prevented Leon from racing Rich Strike at the Preakness.
Further Reading
Kentucky Derby Winner Rich Strike Is Not a Given for Preakness: ‘It’s Got to Be About Him’ (Sports Illustrated)
Preakness? Belmont? After Derby upset, Rich Strike’s team faces chance, and choice, of a lifetime (Yahoo!)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/05/12/kentucky-derby-winner-rich-strike-will-skip-preakness-ending-triple-crown-bid/