Mage’s staff at the Preakness has settled into a steady routine following the horse’s Kentucky Derby victory, which capped off a tumultuous stretch at Churchill Downs.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Preakness favorite Mage hit the track Tuesday for his most important workout since winning the Kentucky Derby as his team aimed to find their routine amidst a spate of horse fatalities at Churchill Downs that overshadowed the race.
The victory marked the end of a turbulent stretch in which seven horses died from various conditions at the Louisville track over a 10-day period. One of the Derby contenders was among those fatalities, another was injured, and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was suspended for two deaths in his barn. Another horse died during a race on Sunday, bringing the total to eight at Churchill Downs in less than three weeks.
The $3 million Derby itself went off without incident on May 6. Mage opened this week as the 8-5 favorite to win the Preakness in Baltimore on Saturday and keep alive the possibility of a Triple Crown winner while concerns swirl about what happened in Kentucky.
Co-owner Ramiro Restrepo, assistant trainer Gustavo Flojo Jr., and his father have insisted that their focus remains on Mage, who appears happy and healthy.
“Everything is just routine,” Restrepo said Tuesday. “That’s the most important thing right now, just keeping him in the routine. He’s on schedule. He’s feeling good. Couldn’t be happier.”
Mage’s team has settled into a relatively quiet pace at Pimlico amid the noise surrounding the sport and has been largely insulated from controversy. No one around Mage had any connection to any of the five horses who suffered fatal musculoskeletal injuries or Joseph’s, who died of unknown causes prompting the suspension.
Renowned trainer Todd Pletcher was also suspended last week in New York in the aftermath of Forte failing a postrace drug test last summer at Saratoga. Forte was the Derby favorite before being scratched hours before by Kentucky racing officials who expressed concern about a bruised right front foot and later placed him on the vet’s list.
With Forte not in the Preakness, Mage is the favorite in a field of eight horses that also includes Bob Baffert-trained National Treasure and Brad Cox’s First Mission. They’ve also arrived at Pimlico, but Mage had the track to himself for a 1 1/2-mile gallop on Tuesday.
“The track itself being so quiet, only a few horses at a time, helps,” Gustavo Flojo Jr. said. “He thinks it’s some sort of spa for him at the moment. That’s nice.”
Flojo said Mage continues to look “professional” on the track. Restrepo said nothing is being done differently in terms of preparation compared to the Derby when Mage won as a 15-1 long shot.
“He’s just sticking to the plan,” he said. “The horse is just a really smart horse and is just doing everything right now.”
