Rain came down for much of the day at Pimlico Race Course, just outside Baltimore.
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This was the first time Nyquist ever had run on a sloppy, messy track, while Exaggerator had won in bad conditions at the Santa Anita Derby last month.
Nyquist won their first four meetings since past year, but Exaggerator almost caught him in the Derby and then dusted his nemesis on a sloppy track on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. “I was on the fence and they all stayed wide”.
Strangely, it emptied as a large number of the party-goers headed for the gates when the entertainment finished about an hour before the main race.
Stride by stride, Exaggerator made up ground along the rail as Nyquist and Uncle Lino dueled for the lead.
Sal Sinatra, President and CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club, pulled back his assertion previous year that the race would be better off at nearby Laurel Park. “I just didn’t want traffic trouble going into the first turn”.
“Even the great Secretariat got beat, ” O’Neill told the Louisville Courier-Journal.
“The foolish use of muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory drugs, and other medications must end now”, said PETA, calling on the owners to release veterinary records and a list of medications that the horses were given in the weeks leading to the races.
The day began on a somber note. The deaths came 10 years after Kentucky Derby victor Barbaro suffered mortal injuries at the Preakness. Seven months later, he was euthanized. Homeboykris, a 9-1 underdog, died after leaving the winner’s circle and on the way back to the barn.
And the pedigree, in Desormeaux’s opinion, gives Exaggerator an edge, at least against Nyquist.
But neither is Exaggerator a modern-day Alydar. Nyquist had a 4-0 edge in the rivalry before Exaggerator overpowered him by 3 1⁄2 lengths under Hall of Fame rider Kent Desormeaux, Keith’s younger brother.
In the immediate aftermath of the race, Keith Desormeaux said: I did what I could to get [Exaggerator] fresh and happy and strong.
“He just blew up and felt like King Kong”, Kent said.
“From the three-eighths to the quarter pole, I had to slow him down”, Kent Desormeaux said.
Stradivari was fourth, followed by Lani, Laoban, Uncle Lino, Fellowship, Awesome Speed, Collected and Abiding Star.
Exaggerator, the second choice among bettors, paid $7.20 $3.20 and $2.40 for a $2 bet. Exaggerator barely broke a sweat, winning the 13/16-mile race in 1:58.31 with Nyquist finishing third.
There is that and the fact that Exaggerator is a very accomplished colt with the brothers Desormeaux making every right move.
Trainer Doug O’Neill’s assistant Jack Sisterson said Monday that Nyquist had blood work done “to make sure nothing is going on”.
The idea of a rematch appeals to Exaggerator’s trainer, Keith Desormeaux. It was the first Preakness victor for the trainer who began his career in Maryland, and third for the Hall of Fame rider.
The Preakness got off to a tragic start on Saturday, with two horses dying in the first four races and a jockey hospitalized with a broken collarbone. Exaggerator was 31/2 lengths ahead of Cherry Wine, a no-doubt-about-it victor. The powerfully built bay colt has won five of 11 starts, with three runner-finishes.
One year after winning the Preakness on their way to a Triple Crown sweep with American Pharoah, Zayat Stables and trainer Bob Baffert returned to capture the $100,000 Chick Lang Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters with Justin Squared.
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“I personally never had a doubt that I’d get here”, he said.
