Preakness post positions drawn today; 13 expected

Associated Press

BALTIMORE

It appears a field of 13 will be entered for the Preakness today when post positions are drawn at 5 p.m.

Of the 20 who ran in the Kentucky Derby, only five are heading to Baltimore for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. Derby winner Super Saver tops the list along with Paddy O’Prado (third in the Derby), Lookin At Lucky (sixth as the 6-1 favorite), Dublin (seventh) and Jackson Bend (12th).

The expected so-called new shooters making debuts in the series for 3-year-olds are: Northern Giant, Aikenite, First Dude, Caracortado, Hurricane Ike, Pleasant Prince; Schoolyard Dreams and Yawanna Twist.

Fourteen runners is the maximum in the Preakness.

Todd Pletcher could have added Mission Impazible, the Louisiana Derby winner who was ninth in the Kentucky Derby, to fill out the field. Pletcher decided Tuesday morning to keep the colt in the barn. Mission Impazible will now be pointed to the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in August.

“We were on the fence with him and never had fully committed to going,” Pletcher said. “We wanted to see how he trained and felt like at the end of the day, that he needed a little more time.”

That still leaves Pletcher a strong hand for the Preakness with Super Saver and Aikenite, the runner-up in the Derby Trial.

Super Saver had a quiet Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs, walking around the barn after turning in a strong three-furlong workout Monday in 36.60 seconds.

“He came out of the work very well,” Pletcher said. “Everything is on go.’

“We anticipated a full gate and I guess it’s close to that,” Pletcher said. “It’s an interesting Preakness to me. We’re happy to be coming with the Derby winner, and feel like he’s doing very well.”

Super Saver is slated to arrive in Baltimore today aboard a flight that will originate in California with a stop in Kentucky.

Bob Baffert can’t change Lookin At Lucky’s name, a misnomer in that the colt has been anything but lucky.

So he did something else, firing veteran jockey Garrett Gomez and replacing him with up-and-coming Martin Garcia.

Baffert hopes a new rider brings a change in fortune.

Sent off the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, Lookin At Lucky broke from the rail and was immediately squeezed out of contention in the early scramble for position. Shuffled back to 18th, Lookin At Lucky made a strong late run to get sixth. It marked the third straight race in which the horse could not get a clean trip.

The 25-year-old Garcia, a California-based rider, will be making his Preakness debut.

“He’s still young,” Baffert said. “He’s not a completely polished rider like a Gomez or John Velazquez, but he’s getting there. He’s got a ways to go. He’s a raw talent and he’s riding with a lot of confidence right now. He’s not intimidated.”