Kentucky Derby winner Mage remains on track to run in the Preakness Stakes next week in 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 those in charge of 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.”
The Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown series, is May 20 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. It covers 1 3/16 miles, slightly shorter than the Derby’s 1 1/4 miles at Louisville’s Churchill Downs. The final leg is the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes on June 10 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
Mage would be the first unquestioned Derby winner to go to the Preakness with a chance to win the Triple Crown since Justify five years ago. In 2019, Maximum Security crossed the finish line first at Churchill Downs but was disqualified for interference and Country House was elevated to first, and neither ran in the Preakness; in 2020, the Belmont Stakes was run first because of the coronavirus pandemic; in 2021, Medina Spirit failed a drug test after winning the Derby and was eventually disqualified; and in 2022, the owner and trainer of long shot Rich Strike decided to skip the race.
While the two weeks between the Derby and Preakness make for an unusually tight turnaround for top thoroughbreds in North America, Restrepo downplayed that concern, citing trainer Gustavo Delgado’s experience.
“He’s won two (Venezuelan) Triple Crowns with similar time frames,” Restrepo said. “So as far as being prepared and being able to know all the things that Mage needs to check off the list to be able to participate his best for the Preakness, we have that in play and we’re quite comfortable with it.”
With veteran jockey Javier Castellano aboard at the Derby last Saturday, Mage overtook Two Phil’s down the stretch and won by a length, clocking a time of 2 minutes, 1.57 seconds. Angel of Empire was third.
Logistical preparations are already underway to get Mage from Churchill Downs to Pimlico, but Restrepo said he and the other owners will make the best decision for the lightly raced colt with two wins in four career starts.
“Every decision that is made on our end, Mage makes that decision for us,” he said. “All indications are that Mage is feeling good, doing well on the race track.”
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 scratched from 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 front foot. Barring an unexpected change by Maryland officials, Forte won’t be able to run in the Preakness after Kentucky racing officials put him on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list earlier this week.
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 Red Route One in the Preakness. “(Disarm has) been back to the track a couple of days now. Will not need much at all from him from a training standpoint. 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 First Mission. Shug McGaughey has his first Preakness horse in a decade in Perform, and Chad Brown is planning to enter Blazing Sevens in the race.
It was not clear if Bob Baffert — who was not allowed to train horses for the Derby in 2022 or this year because of Medina Spirit’s failed drug test but is now cleared to do so in the Preakness — will decide to go for a record-breaking eighth victory in the race with National Treasure.