Gun Runner Will Not Run in Preakness
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Photo: Rick Samuels
Gun Runner (inside) finished third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and will bypass the Preakness.
Trainer Steve Asmussen officially took Gun Runner, the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (gr. II) winner who finished third in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), out of consideration for the May 21 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) the morning of May 17.
"We're going to pass on the Preakness," the newly elected Hall of Famer said by phone. "We're going to continue to train at Churchill and plan on a serious summer of 3-year-old races with him. He's been in tremendous physical condition going into the Derby and coming out of it, and we expect for him to continue to physically develop."
Gun Runner, who races for Winchell Thoroughbreds, Three Chimneys Farm, and Besilu Stables, is a Candy Ride colt who also took the Veterans Ford Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.