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Here are some of the reported contenders for the 150th Preakness Stakes as of May 10.Enter Sandman
Sandman, who finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby following a troubled trip, will be entered in the Preakness, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said Saturday. "We wanted to see how he came back. He's an extremely happy horse right now. It looks like the race might set up nice for him. It looks like there's a fair amount of speed," said Casse, who saddled War of Will for a Preakness triumph in 2019 . "I always quote Allen Jerkens, 'Run 'em when they're good,' and he's good right now. We were planning on waiting for the Belmont, but a lot of things can happen in between. He's telling us he's happy, so we're going to go with it." Sandman dropped far back after bumping with a rival shortly after leaving the starting gate in the Derby before rallying nine-wide to check in seventh. "I knew when he went by us the first time that we were in big trouble. He obviously wasn't handling the track very well, and you just don't know how that affects them late in the race," Casse said in a statement. "He made a middle run but did flatten out a little bit. I think War of Will ran seventh in the Derby and won the Preakness, so we're going with that." Sandman entered the Derby coming off a dominating 2 1/2-length triumph in the March 29 Arkansas Derby. The son of Tapit, who had previously finished second in the Southwest and third in the Rebel, finished third behind Derby-winner Sovereignty in the Street Sense last fall. Sandman's jockey in the Preakness was undetermined Saturday. Sandman is scheduled to ship to Pimlico on Monday.What about Journalism?
Although Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners President and CEO Aron Wellman was disappointed that Journalism ended up second by 1 1/2 lengths to Sovereignty as the 3-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby, he was impressed with the way the colt ran under adverse conditions. "Definitely an admirable performance that certainly validated any and all notions that he's an elite horse," Wellman said in a statement. Journalism's Derby problems began moments after the gates opened when Citizen Bull, breaking from the rail, bore out as he sought to grab the lead and avoid being trapped on the rail. "(It was) very unfortunate that Citizen Bull veered so severely to the right leaving from the rail," Wellman said in a statement. "He impacted several horses in the field, and it was sort of a domino effect that ultimately did have some impact two or three steps out of the gate. The domino effect sort of hit him as well where he got pinched so that we weren't as forward as we would have liked to have been. And then, he got shuffled down towards the rail, where it got pretty physical coming past the wire the first time. Even though it wasn't the position that we wanted to be in, he didn't relinquish any further and make a bad situation worse. I think he made the best of the hand that he was dealt." Coming off the turn and into the stretch, the Derby turned into a match race. "From there, two really, really exceptional colts, threw it down," Wellman said in a statement. "All credit to Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, Godolphin and Sovereignty, (who) got the best of us on the day. But very proud of Journalism's effort under less-than-ideal circumstances, the track surface being included in that. Super proud of the colt. I thought Michael McCarthy had him prepared spectacularly and Umberto Rispoli made every right move. No complaints out of our camp."American Promise
When Westminster-native jockey Nik Juarez rides American Promise at the Preakness on May 17, it will be his first mount in his home state's biggest race. "It's a dream come true for every rider to ride the Derby," said Juarez, who comes from a longtime Maryland racing family. "For me, I'm super-excited to ride the Preakness, to be home at Old Hilltop, Pimlico; lots of good memories there. It's another dream come true." Juarez, 31, shifted circuits over the years from Maryland to New Jersey\Florida and then to Arkansas for the past few winters. He began riding for seven-time Preakness winner D. Wayne Lukas at Oaklawn Park, which led to Juarez traveling to Colonial Downs to ride American Promise for the first time in the Virginia Derby. After a 7 3/4-length victory, Juarez was rewarded with his first Kentucky Derby mount.But if his 16th-place outcome was disappointing, Juarez is undaunted going into the 1 3/16-mile Preakness. "American Promise was able to show us he has the speed, that size, and he really won going away at Colonial Downs," Juarez said. "The Kentucky Derby was awesome. Just being here in Louisville, being around 'The Coach,' seeing him in his element, to be a part of his team was really amazing. And, being represented by Gary Stevens, it was a dream come true." On Friday, American Promise went out for a spirited gallop as soon as the Churchill Downs track opened. Lukas said he's seeing what he wants from the son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify . Lukas had decided that American Promise was headed to the Preakness Stakes by Sunday morning after the Derby. The Derby chart that showed American Promise had finished 38 1/2 lengths behind Sovereignty meant nothing to the 89-year-old Lukas. He had watched American Promise endure a brutal trip in the 19-horse Derby and figured the horse deserved another chance in Maryland's marquee race. While the numbers 16 and 38 1/2 might deter other trainers, Lukas is well-known for sometimes going against the grain and running his horses in the top races in America. And, Lukas understands that a disappointing result in the Derby does not preclude a top performance in the Preakness. Three of Lukas' seven Preakness wins came after less-than satisfying finishes at Churchill Downs. In the 55 runnings of the Preakness since 1970, there have been 13 winners – 23.% – that finished fifth or worse in the Derby and found glory at Pimlico. Clever Again went out for a routine gallop Saturday at Churchill Downs in preparation for making his first graded-stakes appearance in the Preakness. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen plans to work Clever Again a half-mile on Monday and ship to Baltimore on Tuesday. Clever Again was away from the races for 10 months after finishing second in a 4 1/2-furlong race at Keeneland's 2024 spring meet. He came back to win a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Oaklawn Park, followed by a four-length victory in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes at a two-turn mile. "He had a few issues and had to take some time off," co-owner Ron Winchell said before the Kentucky Derby, in which he had Louisiana Derby-winner Tiztastic. "We let horses tell us when they're ready to come back. Unfortunately, he got a little behind on the calendar. We were hoping to get (to the Derby), just like Tiztastic. Instead, the best path was to the Preakness."
