Kentucky Derby champion Mage remains on track to run in the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore next week and continue the pursuit of horse racing’s first Triple Crown since Justify in 2018, with a final decision expected Friday.
Ramiro Restrepo, part of the ownership group, said Thursday that those responsible for deciding Mage’s next race wanted to see one final workout before making that determination.
“Everything is just patience and temperance on our end,” Restrepo said on a conference call with reporters. “The plan is that if on Friday he trains satisfactory like he’s been training all week, then we would make the announcement that we would go to the Preakness.”
Mage will be the first undisputed Derby winner to go to the Preakness with a chance to win the Triple Crown since Justify five years ago.
In 2019, Maximum Security was disqualified and Country House elevated to first with neither running in the Preakness; in 2020, the Belmont Stakes was run first due to the pandemic; in 2021, Medina Spirit failed a drug test after winning the Derby and was ultimately DQed; and in 2022, the owner and trainer of long shot Rich Strike chose to skip the race.
Politics Cartoons
As the two weeks between the Derby and the Preakness make for an unusually tight turnaround for top thoroughbreds in America, Restrepo downplayed that concern, citing trainer Gustavo Delgado’s experience.
“He’s got two (Venezuelan) Triple Crowns with similar timeframes, so far as being prepared and being able to understand all the things that Mage needs to check off the list to participate his best for the Preakness, we have that in play and we’re quite comfortable with it,” Restrepo said.
Logistical arrangements are already underway to get Mage from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, to Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore.
Restrepo said he and the other owners will make the best decision for the lightly raced colt with only four career starts.
“Every decision that is made on our end, Mage will make that decision for us,” he said. “All signs are that Mage is feeling good, doing well on the racetrack.”
Chase Chamberlin, co-founder and head of racing for Commonwealth, a consortium that includes Restrepo and owns a 25% stake in Mage, echoed the sentiment of putting the horse first and defended Delgado for not committing to the Preakness immediately.
“Mr. Gustavo has gotten some flack on horse racing Twitter, of course, for not declaring Preakness immediately,” Chamberlin told The Associated Press. “He is making sure that the horse is fully ready.”
Mage won the Derby at odds of 15-1 after a tumultuous 10-day stretch at Churchill Downs during which seven horses died and five were injured leading up to the $3 million race, leaving a field of 18 to run instead of the usual 20.
Forte, the morning line favorite, was scratched hours before by Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarians who had concerns about a bruised right foot. Kentucky racing officials placed him on the mandatory 14-day veterinary list earlier this week, and on Thursday trainer Todd Pletcher was suspended a week by New York officials for Forte’s positive drug test in September, ruling out any slim chance of the horse running in the Preakness.
Fourth-place Derby finisher Disarm is expected to join Mage in the Preakness field.
“Very pleased with how he’s come out of the race,” said trainer Steve Asmussen, who is also planning to saddle Midnight Bourbon in the Preakness. “(Disarm has) been back on the track a couple of days now. Doesn’t need much at all from him from a training perspective. Just want him to continue to be loose and comfortable.”
Brad Cox, who had four horses in the Derby, will not bring any of them back for the Preakness but instead intends to challenge Mage this time with Essential Quality. Shug McGaughey has his first Preakness horse in a decade in Perform, and Chad Brown is planning to enter Risk Taking in the race.
It was unclear if Bob Baffert, who was banned from training horses for the Derby in 2022 or ’23 due to Medina Spirit’s failed drug test but is now cleared to do so in the Preakness, will attempt to go for a record-breaking eighth victory in the race with Concert Tour.
