Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike to skip Preakness

Rich Strike, the 80-1 long shot who thrilled the racing world with his late charge to victory in the Kentucky Derby, will skip the Preakness, owner Rick Dawson said.

Dawson said he and trainer Eric Reed originally planned to run Rich Strike in the Derby and come back five weeks later for the Belmont Stakes.

“Obviously, with our tremendous effort & win in the Derby, it’s very, very tempting to alter our course & run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group,” Dawson said in a statement provided by Preakness organizers. “However, after much discussion & consideration with my trainer, Eric Reed & a few others, we are going to stay with our plan of what’s best for Ritchie is what’s best for our group, and pass on running in the Preakness, and point toward the Belmont in approximately 5 weeks.”

Reed had indicated since the morning after the Derby that he expected to enter Rich Strike in the Preakness if he held up well in training. In an update from his home track in Kentucky on Wednesday, Reed said: “Everything seems good.”

The decision to skip the Preakness is unusual but not unprecedented. Country House, who won the 2019 Derby after Maximum Security was disqualified, did not travel to the Preakness because of a cough and never raced again. Before his defection, it had been 23 years since a Derby champion failed to take a shot at the second leg of the Triple Crown.