Derby Winner Authentic Gets First Glimpse of Pimlico

It was a typical Preakness Stakes (G1) week morning at Pimlico Race Course as nine of the 11 3-year-old starters in the $1 million Triple Crown test took to the racetrack Sept. 30 for leisurely moves on a sloppy surface.

The only difference from past years came from Mother Nature.

Aside from the overnight rain that created wet going when training commenced at 6 a.m., the brisk air and darkness served as reminders that the 145th Preakness will be contested Oct. 3 at Pimlico, with daylight savings time a few weeks away, as opposed to its traditional spring spot on the third Saturday in May.

"The cold weather is nice," Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. "You don't have to worry about dehydration. The horses love this."

Baffert was pretty pleased himself as his two hopefuls for a record-breaking eighth Preakness win both had easy introductions to the racing surface at Pimlico after shipping into Baltimore Sept. 29 from Churchill Downs.

Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm's grade 2-winning Thousand Words went out first for a jog around the track. Then, after the track was manicured, star of the show and Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Authentic took an easy lap around the track without incident.

Baffert said both horses had an uneventful trip from Kentucky and Authentic was full of energy for his upcoming test in the 1 3/16-mile third and final jewel of the Triple Crown.

"He came off the van yesterday like a keg of dynamite," Baffert said about the son of Into Mischief . "He has so much energy." 

Owned by Spendthrift farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, Authentic has a record of five wins in six starts and is the 9-5 morning-line favorite.

Baffert was also pleased with Thousand Words' jog.

"Thousand Words went nice," Baffert said. "He's always been a nice horse."

Well, maybe not always. The son of Pioneerof the Nile is back on the Triple Crown trail after a nightmare Kentucky Derby, when he reared and fell in the paddock before the race. The mishap caused Thousand Words to be scratched from the Run for the Roses and left Baffert's assistant trainer, Jim Barnes, who was trying to saddle the $1 million yearling, with a fractured wrist.

Baffert said both horses will gallop Oct. 1 and 2 to finalize their preparations.

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, the 5-2 second choice, went out at the same time as Authentic and galloped 1 1/4 miles in fine fashion, according to trainer Tommy Drury Jr.

"My assistant said everything went perfectly. Art Collector is a free-moving type, and he's always been the type that takes his racetrack with him," Drury said by phone from Kentucky. "It was a long day of traveling yesterday, and they sent me some video of him today and I saw his ears were pricked and he had a nice bounce coming after he trained, which I was glad to see. That's what you're looking for with a horse like this."

Art Collector, the winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2), was also expected to be among Authentic's rivals in the Kentucky Derby, but a minor foot injury thwarted those hopes.

Drury said that problem is now in the rearview mirror for the son of Bernardini .

"It wasn't much of an issue," said Drury, who will send out his first Triple Crown starter. "It quieted down. It was just fluke timing more than anything else."

Among the other Preakness entrants, trainer Ken McPeek elected to have the Daredevil  filly Swiss Skydiver jog twice around the track in the opposite direction at about 6 a.m.

"We went out to gallop, but the track was really bad," McPeek said. "It took a lot of rain, so she just went around backwards twice."

McPeek plans to gallop Peter Callahan's Alabama Stakes (G1) winner and Blue Grass runner-up the next two days.

The early morning conditions were fine for Allied Racing Stable's Mr. Big News, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby who put in a 1 1/2-mile gallop shortly after the track opened.

"He went very well," trainer Bret Calhoun said. "The track was obviously pretty sloppy, but he has an affinity for it and the track was in really good condition. He enjoyed himself out there. It was a nice, easy mile and a half, and he came back to the barn happy."

The son of Giant's Causeway was a 46-1 longshot in the Kentucky Derby and was pegged at a much lower 12-1 on the morning line for the Preakness.

"It was a big race in the Kentucky Derby, and he bounced back really well," Calhoun said. "He held his weight really well after the race and is training forwardly going into the Preakness."

Calhoun said the Oaklawn Stakes winner—also at odds of 46-1—will gallop once again Thursday and also stand in the starting gate.

The only Preakness entrants who did not head out to the racetrack were two of trainer Steve Asmussen's three starters, Max Player and Excession, who walked the shed row after arriving Tuesday from Kentucky.

The Preakness, which can be seen on NBC, will be the 11th of 12 races Saturday, with post time slated for 5:36 p.m. ET.

Though a Triple Crown will not be on the line, the winner will receive a Breeders' Cup Challenge berth in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.