Enter Metallica: Sandman has some hard-rocking fans going into the Preakness
BALTIMORE (AP) — Mark Casse was not a Metallica guy until he began training Sandman. Now he is a big fan.
The band has returned the favor.
Front man James Hetfield met the horse at Churchill Downs before the Kentucky Derby, and he and the rest of Metallica filmed a video for Casse and Co. wishing Sandman well in the Preakness this weekend.
'We're excited to cheer on the people's horse, Sandman, who's heading to Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore this Saturday for the
150th running of the Preakness Stakes
, the second leg of the Triple Crown,' Hetfield said. 'Metallica would like to wish Sandman and his awesome team good luck for a safe and winning trip at Preakness 150. Enter Sandman!'
Metallica
also sent shirts
to outfit the entire Casse Racing operation. Casse sent a hat signed by Hetfield to a friend and received in return a pair of Metallica-logoed underwear.
'I will be wearing them,' Casse said. 'There'll be no stone unturned.'
Sandman could use luck turning in his favor after
finishing seventh in the Derby
. Accustomed to being in the back of the pack, he struggled in the slop as he had more mud kicked back in his face than normal because of the 18 horses ahead of him.
'He just never got comfortable,' Casse said. 'That's why we're here. We're going to throw that one out. Hopefully we get a better track on Saturday, and even if we don't, we're only going to have eight horses throwing mud back at us.'
Calm River Thames
Todd Pletcher-trained River Thames was one of the latest-arriving Preakness horses, getting to Baltimore on Wednesday. The strapping colt took to the track at Pimlico for the first time Thursday morning, galloping a mile under exercise rider Nick Merritt.
'Just trying to keep him happy for the race, essentially,' Merritt said. 'Chill, chill horse. He's taking it all in.'
Pletcher has won the Derby twice and the Belmont Stakes four times. A Preakness victory is the last thing missing from his Triple Crown resume, and River Thames opened as the 9-2 third choice on the morning line after 8-5 favorite Journalism and Sandman at 4-1.
Baffert and Lukas
The far corner of the stakes barn at Pimlico during Preakness week has seen many Hall of Fame trainers, including good friends Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas chatting, telling stories and, often, giving each other and anyone within earshot a hard time.
They took their buddy comedy on the road for the
annual Alibi Breakfast
, roasting and poking some fun at fellow trainers. Lukas said he tried to talk Mike McCarthy out of having Journalism in the No. 40 stall usually reserved for the Kentucky Derby winner.
'That's the kiss of death — you can't put him in there,' Lukas said. 'I told him to go over and get him into another stall. Bob said: 'No, no, leave him there. Leave him there.' Don't make him feel comfortable. He's already got the favorite.'
Baffert responded: 'The best horse wins the race, Wayne. It doesn't matter what stall he's in.'
Lukas and Baffert then turned their attention to Casse, who is based in Ocala, Florida, but is the most accomplished trainer at Woodbine Racetrack outside Toronto.
'We've got to watch out for this Mark Casse; he's won the Sovereign Award as leading trainer in Canada about 35 times or something,' Lukas said.
'What happens in Canada stays in Canada,' Baffert quipped. 'It's like Vegas, OK?'
Lukas chimed back in: 'It doesn't count. Mark, nothing counts in Canada.'
___
AP horse racing:
https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
When a fox says ‘help' in London, there's often an ambulance on its way
PADDOCK WOOD, England (AP) — The injured fox is cornered in a cage, teeth bared and snarling at the woman trying to help it. Nicki Townsend is unfazed. Wearing only rubber gloves and an outfit suitable for a yoga class, she approaches with soothing words. 'All right, baby,' she coos as she deftly drapes a towel over his head, grabs him by the scruff of his neck, scoops up his wounded legs and moves him to a clean cage. It's not the way her day typically begins, but there's nothing routine about rescuing foxes. 'You can never predict what you're going to arrive at,' Townsend said. While not as visible as phone boxes or double-decker buses, the red fox is a fixture in London, a city not known for its wildlife. But living on the streets, alleys and back gardens of a dense urban environment can be rough and when foxes need help, they have their own ambulance service — and Townsend may be on her way. The foxes didn't invade London so much as adapt and expand their range inward as the city spread to their habitat in the 1930s and suburbs grew. But people and the bushy-tailed member of the canine family have not always lived in harmony, and the species has admirers and adversaries. For everyone enchanted seeing a fox trotting nonchalantly down their street at dusk or basking in a sunny backyard, there are plenty who see them as pests. They poop where they like, tear into garbage and the vixens in heat let out terrifying shrieks in the dead of winter when attracting a mate. 'It's like Marmite with foxes,' Townsend said, referring to the food spread that is an acquired and divisive taste. 'You either love them or hate them.' The divide between the two camps led Trevor Williams to found what became The Fox Project nearly 35 years ago. Once a bass player in the rock group Audience that opened for Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Williams had been active in the campaign to stop fox hunting when he redirected his protection efforts to the city, where foxes were once routinely killed. 'Because of the myths that have occurred over the years, there's still a lot of suspicion about what foxes might be,' Williams said. 'You know, they're going to bite the baby, they're going to eat the cat, they're going to run away with your husband.' The project has since grown from providing information on deterring foxes to rescuing 1,400 a year, including 400 cubs, though only about half survive to be released. There are estimated to be 15,000 foxes in London. The project covers a swath of south London and its leafy suburbs while other organizations not devoted solely to foxes handle other parts of the city. While the omnivores survive on small animals, bugs and berries in the wild, they favor easily scavenged leftovers in the city and handouts that make them more dependent on humans. Their main urban menaces are cars, getting snagged in soccer nets or getting stuck in tight spaces. In their effort to get free, they often get nasty abrasions that can become infected. Many also suffer from mange, a parasitic infestation that leads to all kinds of problems. Townsend pilots her VW Caddy on city streets, highways and narrow lanes that roll through lush hills, responding to calls about injured or ill foxes or cubs that have lost their mothers. She's seen a bit of everything since her first humbling call 2 1/2 years ago when the supposedly injured fox bolted. 'In my inexperience, I chased after him, which is comical because you're never going to outrun a fox,' she said. 'I just remember he ran very fast and I looked silly running after him.' Despite many challenging situations — she once managed to rescue a fox that lost its footing atop a fence and ended upside down at eye level with its paw lodged between boards — she's only been bitten once. Her van carries the distinctly musky scent of foxes. The odor becomes unpleasant when an anxious passenger in a litter of cubs relieves itself enroute to being delivered to a foster care pen where they will stay until being released in the wild. 'Feel free to open the window,' said Townsend, who is accustomed to the stench. 'This is a stinky job.' On a recent day, she was dispatched to meet a heartbroken couple who found a cub with a puncture wound collapsed on their back lawn. 'We thought he was asleep at first, so we went to go and have a close look because we love them,' Charlotte English said. 'Then he just didn't move, so we knew something was wrong.' That cub had to be put to sleep, as did the adult Townsend transferred at the start of her shift. Cubs that recover are socialized in packs of five until they mature and are then released in a rural location while the adults are freed in the neighborhoods where they were found. Given a second chance, it's not clear how well the foxes fare, because they are rarely tracked. A 2016 study in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that rehabilitated foxes were more likely to behave as if they had been displaced when returned to their original territory. They were tracked wandering farther away, potentially exposing them to more traffic and greater stress. 'It is a gap in the knowledge and there's an assumption that when you release them, they thrive and I think that that assumption needs to be challenged more,' said Bryony Tolhurst, a University of Brighton honorary research fellow and lead author of the study. For Townsend, fox deaths are offset by the joy of seeing little ones venture into the unknown or an adult darting into a neighborhood it instantly recognizes. 'Sometimes they look back and people like to romanticize that they're saying 'thank you,'' she said. 'They're just making sure we're not chasing after them.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Report: Bengals releasing veteran linebacker after 6 seasons
The Cincinnati Bengals are reportedly parting ways with a veteran linebacker after six seasons. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Germaine Pratt was expected to be released by the team on Monday, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Advertisement The Bengals have not yet announced Pratt's release themselves. Pelissero said the move would give the team $5.6 million in salary cap savings. TRENDING STORIES: Pratt was drafted in the third round in 2019 and started 88 games over 66 seasons, according to the Associated Press (AP). The AP also reported that Pratt requested a trade during the offseason as he was entering the final season of a three-year contract. He finished ninth in the NFL in 2024 with 143 tackles, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions. Pratt sealed the Bengals' first playoff win during the 2021 Super Bowl run with an interception in the final seconds against Las Vegas. It was Cincinnati's first playoff victory in 31 seasons. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Naylor hits grand slam in 11th and Diamondbacks recover to beat Mariners 8-4
Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Josh Naylor hit a game-ending grand slam in the 11th inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Seattle Mariners 8-4 on Monday night after losing closer Justin Martinez with two outs in the ninth and then blowing a four-run lead. Corbin Carroll launched a leadoff homer and Naylor had three hits and five RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who stopped a three-game skid. Martinez entered to start the ninth with Arizona leading 4-0 and struck out Jorge Polanco and Randy Arozarena to begin the inning. The right-hander then walked Dylan Moore on a full count and threw a pitch to Donovan Solano before calling for an athletic trainer. Jeff Brigham came in and gave up RBI singles to Solano and Cole Young before Dominic Canzone tied it with a 450-foot, two-run drive to right field for his first homer this season. Juan Morillo retired slugger Cal Raleigh with two runners aboard to finally end the inning. Morillo then pitched a perfect 10th and Jalen Beeks (2-0) got three straight outs in the 11th. Naylor homered to right-center with one out on a 1-2 pitch from Carlos Vargas (1-5), who was working his second inning in relief. Vargas loaded the bases with a walk to Geraldo Perdomo that followed an intentional walk to Ketel Marte. ___ AP MLB: recommended
