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Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Journalism is the horse to beat in the Preakness. But recent trends show it won't be easy.
'There's some other very talented horses, but the horse to beat without a doubt is Journalism,' said Mark Casse, trainer of Preakness contender Sandman, who opened at 4-1 and is set to be ridden by accomplished jockey John Velazquez. 'Everybody's got to beat Journalism. It's how everybody can rebound and come back in two weeks.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Journalism, Sandman and Lukas' American Promise are the only Preakness horses who ran in the Derby two weeks ago. Sandman was seventh after struggling with mud getting kicked up into his face, and American Promise finished 16th after running into trouble early and late in the 19-horse race at Churchill Downs that is typically chaotic. Advertisement Baffert has won the middle leg of the Triple Crown a record eight times and would make it nine if Goal Oriented gets the job done from the inside No. 1 post. Lukas has seven victories in this race and can tie Baffert if American Promise helps him go back-to-back in the Preakness after winning last year with long shot Seize the Grey. Advertisement 'He's better this week than he was the week before the Derby,' the 89-year-old Lukas said of American Promise, a son of 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify, who was trained by Baffert. 'Whether that helps us or not, I don't know but we got no excuses in this barn. It might be when Journalism gets down with us. I don't know. We'll see.' In his next breath, Lukas said, 'I think Journalism is beatable.' How so? 'Well, we don't know how he's going to bounce back in two weeks,' Lukas said. 'That's the first thing, but it's a different race. It's nine (horses). It means everybody will probably have a shot at him. It's a different surface. Obviously it's shorter. It may not fit him too well.' The Preakness at 1 3/16 miles is slightly shorter than the 1¼-mile Kentucky Derby, but there's optimism about close-to-normal conditions after nearly a week's worth of rain fell on Baltimore and mucked up the dirt track at Pimlico Race Course. After Journalism galloped through the mud earlier this week, McCarthy quipped of the surface, 'I think everyone would hope it's better by Saturday.' Journalism did just fine in the slop in Louisville two weeks ago, and everything from his pedigree — he's a son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin — to his wins in major stakes races in California make him a worthy favorite. 'I have a lot of confidence in my horse,' McCarthy said. 'He's coming back in two weeks. Sometimes with good horses, it's a lot harder to tell when they're not on top of their game because they can handle it and they handle these things so easily. We'll see on Saturday, but my gut tells me we're in for good things.' Advertisement Casse's War of Will in 2019 is the most recent horse to win the Preakness after running in the Derby. The past five, including McCarthy-trained Rombauer in 2021, did not, though Seize the Grey had the same two-week turnaround last year from racing on the undercard on Kentucky Derby day. The new faces on the Triple Crown trail in the Preakness are Todd Pletcher-trained River Thames (9-2), Steve Asmussen's Clever Again (5-1), Jamie Osborn's British import Heart of Honor (12-1), Brendan Walsh's Gosger (20-1) and local long shot Pay Billy (20-1). Pletcher has never won the Preakness. Rombauer pulled off an upset at 11-1 four years ago, and McCarthy called him and Journalism 'two totally different types of horses.' This time, there's the weight of expectations for Journalism, again ridden by regular jockey Umberto Rispoli, with the pressure on. 'I think it's a great spot to be in,' McCarthy said, noting he'd love to have a Kentucky Derby victory under his belt to go with this. 'But it's a tough race to win. Any of these Triple Crown races, they're not easy to win. We've brought a horse here who seems like he's good enough to get the job done on Saturday.'
Fox Sports
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Journalism is the horse to beat in the Preakness. But recent trends show it won't be easy
Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Leave it to two seasoned, Hall of Fame trainers with 15 combined Preakness Stakes victories to turn up the heat on a competitor a few days before the big race. D. Wayne Lukas said to Michael McCarthy, 'I think, Mike, it's your race to lose.' Bob Baffert jokingly piled on, 'Yeah, Mike, it's your race to lose.' McCarthy's Journalism is the 8-5 morning line favorite to win the 150th rendition of the Preakness on Saturday after finishing a strong second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty is not running after his team decided to skip it for extra rest and aim for the Belmont Stakes next month, a notable absence that makes the Derby runner-up the top choice in a field of nine. 'There's some other very talented horses, but the horse to beat without a doubt is Journalism,' said Mark Casse, trainer of Preakness contender Sandman, who opened at 4-1 and is set to be ridden by accomplished jockey John Velazquez. 'Everybody's got to beat Journalism. It's how everybody can rebound and come back in two weeks.' Journalism, Sandman and Lukas' American Promise are the only Preakness horses who ran in the Derby two weeks ago. Sandman was seventh after struggling with mud getting kicked up into his face, and American Promise finished 16th after running into trouble early and late in the 19-horse race at Churchill Downs that is typically chaotic. Baffert has won the middle leg of the Triple Crown a record eight times and would make it nine if Goal Oriented gets the job done from the inside No. 1 post. Lukas has seven victories in this race and can tie Baffert if American Promise helps him go back-to-back in the Preakness after winning last year with long shot Seize the Grey. 'He's better this week than he was the week before the Derby,' the 89-year-old Lukas said of American Promise, a son of 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify, who was trained by Baffert. 'Whether that helps us or not, I don't know but we got no excuses in this barn. It might be when Journalism gets down with us. I don't know. We'll see.' In his next breath, Lukas said, 'I think Journalism is beatable.' How so? 'Well, we don't know how he's going to bounce back in two weeks,' Lukas said. 'That's the first thing, but it's a different race. It's nine (horses). It means everybody will probably have a shot at him. It's a different surface. Obviously it's shorter. It may not fit him too well.' The Preakness at 1 3/16 miles is slightly shorter than the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, but there's optimism about close-to-normal conditions after nearly a week's worth of rain fell on Baltimore and mucked up the dirt track at Pimlico Race Course. After Journalism galloped through the mud earlier this week, McCarthy quipped of the surface, 'I think everyone would hope it's better by Saturday.' Journalism did just fine in the slop in Louisville two weeks ago, and everything from his pedigree — he's a son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin — to his wins in major stakes races in California make him a worthy favorite. 'I have a lot of confidence in my horse,' McCarthy said. 'He's coming back in two weeks. Sometimes with good horses, it's a lot harder to tell when they're not on top of their game because they can handle it and they handle these things so easily. We'll see on Saturday, but my gut tells me we're in for good things.' Casse's War of Will in 2019 is the most recent horse to win the Preakness after running in the Derby. The past five, including McCarthy-trained Rombauer in 2021, did not, though Seize the Grey had the same two-week turnaround last year from racing on the undercard on Kentucky Derby day. The new faces on the Triple Crown trail in the Preakness are Todd Pletcher-trained River Thames (9-2), Steve Asmussen's Clever Again (5-1), Jamie Osborn's British import Heart of Honor (12-1), Brendan Walsh's Gosger (20-1) and local long shot Pay Billy (20-1). Pletcher has never won the Preakness. Rombauer pulled off an upset at 11-1 four years ago, and McCarthy called him and Journalism 'two totally different types of horses.' This time, there's the weight of expectations for Journalism, again ridden by regular jockey Umberto Rispoli, with the pressure on. 'I think it's a great spot to be in,' McCarthy said, noting he'd love to have a Kentucky Derby victory under his belt to go with this. 'But it's a tough race to win. Any of these Triple Crown races, they're not easy to win. We've brought a horse here who seems like he's good enough to get the job done on Saturday.' ___ AP horse racing: recommended in this topic
NBC Sports
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Lukas looks to 'turn the page' on American Promise in the Preakness after a troubled Derby trip
Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick look ahead to the 2025 Preakness Stakes, weighing in on some the betting favorites, including Journalism and Goal Oriented. BALTIMORE — American Promise got cut off at the start of the Kentucky Derby, then couldn't get the room to squeeze between horses down the stretch. It added up to a 16th-place finish. 'He's a big horse,' trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. 'He can't stop and start like that. It just won't work.' Lukas is hoping things will work out better in the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, bringing American Promise back to race two weeks after the troubled trip in the Derby. No one has saddled more horses in the second leg of the Triple Crown than the 89-year-old Hall of Famer, who is looking to become the first to win the Preakness back to back since good friend Bob Baffert in 2001 and '02. 'When you have a trip that you could analyze and overanalyze or whatever you want to do, I turn the page and concentrate on this here and what we can get done,' Lukas said Tuesday after overseeing American Promise jog a couple of miles in the rain at Pimlico Race Course. 'He did really well. He had good energy and everything.' American Promise is set to be Lukas' 49th Preakness horse over 34 renditions of the race since winning his first try back in 1980 with Codex. If American Promise gets the job done, it will give Lukas an eighth Preakness victory and tie Baffert for the record. Opening at odds of 15-1, third-longest in the field of nine, he's a long shot to do so. But a deluge of rain this week could factor in, like the muddy track did at Churchill Downs when Sovereignty outdueled Journalism, who is the Preakness favorite with the Derby winner not running. Lukas said Journalism 'jumps off the page' and is a worthwhile favorite, but he has reason to believe American Promise could thrive with room to run, even if the surface is a little sloppy. 'I got a hunch that he'll be able to manage it,' Lukas said. Heart of Honor is in a barn by himself this week at Pimlico because he will soon be returning to England, where he was born in 2022. But rather than being an international entrant in the Preakness, the colt is actually more American than British-bred. 'He ended up in the U.K. by accident,' said Jimmy McCarthy, chief operating officer for Jamie Osborne's stable based in Hungerford. That is because David Redvers bought his mare, Chilean champion Ruby Love, in November 2021 at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, when she was in foal with him, then shipped her to England. In addition to her name, Heart of Honor got his moniker from the white mark on his face that looks a little like a heart. On the track, he has shown some heart, finishing second in his past three races in Dubai at Meydan Racecourse, most recently the Grade 2 UAE Derby on April 5. The Preakness is a step up from that, not to mention an ordeal involving flying the horse first to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Baltimore for a shot in the $2 million race. Heart of Honor opened at 12-1. 'It's a big risk, and it's a big undertaking,' McCarthy said. 'It is a bit of an adventure. It's something they're willing to take a risk, so we'll see what happens.' Pay Billy is the Maryland local long shot, an automatic qualifier from winning the Federico Tesio Stakes at nearby Laurel Park last month. Neither jockey Raul Mena nor trainer Billy Gorham has ever had a horse in a Triple Crown race before. 'Everyone in the barn's all excited,' Gorham said. 'A lot of the guys that work for me have been with me a long time. Everyone's worked hard through the years with just claiming horses and a few stakes horses here and there basically everyday horses. Now we get a chance to go in the Preakness, it's a big deal.' Mena, a 33-year-old from Chile who has been riding in the U.S. for nearly a decade, called it a 'very special moment' for himself professionally, and because few expect Pay Billy at 20-1 to pull off an upset, he's enjoying the experience. 'He's not going to be the favorite,' Mena said. 'I don't got the pressure in the race. I know my horse: He's got the talent to be competing with those horses. ... If we win the race, it's going to be awesome. If he doesn't win, I'm still happy.'
San Francisco Chronicle
13-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lukas looks to 'turn the page' on American Promise in the Preakness after a troubled Derby trip
BALTIMORE (AP) — American Promise got cut off at the start of the Kentucky Derby, then couldn't get the room to squeeze between horses down the stretch. It added up to a 16th-place finish. 'He's a big horse,' trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. 'He can't stop and start like that. It just won't work.' Lukas is hoping things will work out better in the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, bringing American Promise back to race two weeks after the troubled trip in the Derby. No one has saddled more horses in the second leg of the Triple Crown than the 89-year-old Hall of Famer, who is looking to become the first to win the Preakness back to back since good friend Bob Baffert in 2001 and '02. 'When you have a trip that you could analyze and overanalyze or whatever you want to do, I turn the page and concentrate on this here and what we can get done,' Lukas said Tuesday after overseeing American Promise jog a couple of miles in the rain at Pimlico Race Course. 'He did really well. He had good energy and everything.' American Promise is set to be Lukas' 49th Preakness horse over 34 renditions of the race since winning his first try back in 1980 with Codex. If American Promise gets the job done, it will give Lukas an eighth Preakness victory and tie Baffert for the record. Opening at odds of 15-1 — third-longest in the field of nine — he's a long shot to do so. But a deluge of rain this week could factor in, like the muddy track did at Churchill Downs when Sovereignty outdueled Journalism, who is the Preakness favorite with the Derby winner not running. Lukas said Journalism 'jumps off the page" and is a worthwhile favorite, but he has reason to believe American Promise could thrive with room to run, even if the surface is a little sloppy. 'I got a hunch that he'll be able to manage it,' Lukas said. Dual-citizen horse Heart of Honor is in a barn by himself this week at Pimlico because he will soon be returning to England, where he was born in 2022. But rather than being an international entrant in the Preakness, the colt is actually more American than British-bred. 'He ended up in the U.K. by accident,' said Jimmy McCarthy, chief operating officer for Jamie Osborne's stable based in Hungerford. That is because David Redvers bought his mare, Chilean champion Ruby Love, in November 2021 at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, when she was in foal with him, then shipped her to England. In addition to her name, Heart of Honor got his moniker from the white mark on his face that looks a little like a heart. On the track, he has shown some heart, finishing second in his past three races in Dubai at Meydan Racecourse, most recently the Grade 2 UAE Derby on April 5. The Preakness is a step up from that, not to mention an ordeal involving flying the horse first to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Baltimore for a shot in the $2 million race. Heart of Honor opened at 12-1. 'It's a big risk, and it's a big undertaking,' McCarthy said. 'It is a bit of an adventure. It's something they're willing to take a risk, so we'll see what happens.' Local Billy Pay Billy is the Maryland local long shot, an automatic qualifier from winning the Federico Tesio Stakes at nearby Laurel Park last month. Neither jockey Raul Mena nor trainer Billy Gorham has ever had a horse in a Triple Crown race before. "Everyone in the barn's all excited," Gorham said. 'A lot of the guys that work for me have been with me a long time. Everyone's worked hard through the years with just claiming horses and a few stakes horses here and there basically everyday horses. Now we get a chance to go in the Preakness, it's a big deal.' Mena, a 33-year-old from Chile who has been riding in the U.S. for nearly a decade, called it a 'very special moment' for himself professionally, and because few expect Pay Billy at 20-1 to pull off an upset, he's enjoying the experience. 'He's not going to be the favorite,' Mena said. 'I don't got the pressure in the race. I know my horse: He's got the talent to be competing with those horses. ... If we win the race, it's going to be awesome. If he doesn't win, I'm still happy.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lukas looks to ‘turn the page' on American Promise in the Preakness after a troubled Derby trip
BALTIMORE (AP) — American Promise got cut off at the start of the Kentucky Derby, then couldn't get the room to squeeze between horses down the stretch. It added up to a 16th-place finish. 'He's a big horse,' trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. 'He can't stop and start like that. It just won't work.' Lukas is hoping things will work out better in the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, bringing American Promise back to race two weeks after the troubled trip in the Derby. No one has saddled more horses in the second leg of the Triple Crown than the 89-year-old Hall of Famer, who is looking to become the first to win the Preakness back to back since good friend Bob Baffert in 2001 and '02. 'When you have a trip that you could analyze and overanalyze or whatever you want to do, I turn the page and concentrate on this here and what we can get done,' Lukas said Tuesday after overseeing American Promise jog a couple of miles in the rain at Pimlico Race Course. 'He did really well. He had good energy and everything.' American Promise is set to be Lukas' 49th Preakness horse over 34 renditions of the race since winning his first try back in 1980 with Codex. If American Promise gets the job done, it will give Lukas an eighth Preakness victory and tie Baffert for the record. Opening at odds of 15-1 — third-longest in the field of nine — he's a long shot to do so. But a deluge of rain this week could factor in, like the muddy track did at Churchill Downs when Sovereignty outdueled Journalism, who is the Preakness favorite with the Derby winner not running. Lukas said Journalism 'jumps off the page' and is a worthwhile favorite, but he has reason to believe American Promise could thrive with room to run, even if the surface is a little sloppy. 'I got a hunch that he'll be able to manage it,' Lukas said. Dual-citizen horse Heart of Honor is in a barn by himself this week at Pimlico because he will soon be returning to England, where he was born in 2022. But rather than being an international entrant in the Preakness, the colt is actually more American than British-bred. 'He ended up in the U.K. by accident,' said Jimmy McCarthy, chief operating officer for Jamie Osborne's stable based in Hungerford. That is because David Redvers bought his mare, Chilean champion Ruby Love, in November 2021 at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, when she was in foal with him, then shipped her to England. In addition to her name, Heart of Honor got his moniker from the white mark on his face that looks a little like a heart. On the track, he has shown some heart, finishing second in his past three races in Dubai at Meydan Racecourse, most recently the Grade 2 UAE Derby on April 5. The Preakness is a step up from that, not to mention an ordeal involving flying the horse first to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Baltimore for a shot in the $2 million race. Heart of Honor opened at 12-1. 'It's a big risk, and it's a big undertaking,' McCarthy said. 'It is a bit of an adventure. It's something they're willing to take a risk, so we'll see what happens.' Local Billy Pay Billy is the Maryland local long shot, an automatic qualifier from winning the Federico Tesio Stakes at nearby Laurel Park last month. Neither jockey Raul Mena nor trainer Billy Gorham has ever had a horse in a Triple Crown race before. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Everyone in the barn's all excited,' Gorham said. 'A lot of the guys that work for me have been with me a long time. Everyone's worked hard through the years with just claiming horses and a few stakes horses here and there basically everyday horses. Now we get a chance to go in the Preakness, it's a big deal.' Mena, a 33-year-old from Chile who has been riding in the U.S. for nearly a decade, called it a 'very special moment' for himself professionally, and because few expect Pay Billy at 20-1 to pull off an upset, he's enjoying the experience. 'He's not going to be the favorite,' Mena said. 'I don't got the pressure in the race. I know my horse: He's got the talent to be competing with those horses. … If we win the race, it's going to be awesome. If he doesn't win, I'm still happy.' ___ AP horse racing:
