Automatic Berths Boost Preakness Field

While the Breeders' Cup may have ownership of the "Win and You're In" tag line, the concept of automatic qualifying races for a major race has also struck a chord with the Maryland Jockey Club and The Stronach Group.

Among the field of 13 entered in the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course are three starters who used a victory in a designated stakes to earn a free spot in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

The trio consists of Runnymede Racing's Alwaysmining (Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park), Peter Redekop B.C.'s Anothertwistafate (El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields), and Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Laughing Fox (Oaklawn Invitational Stakes at Oaklawn Park), each of whom saved their connections $30,000 in entry and starting fees and eliminated any chance of being excluded from the maximum field of 14.

"Being the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, it always gets tough after the Kentucky Derby to find starters," said Chris Merz, racing secretary for the Maryland Jockey Club. "With these automatic spots, we started with three fresh horses coming in, which is a big help."

As much as qualifying for the Preakness is a different beast than the mad scramble for points to get into the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), for Blaine Wright, the trainer of Anothertwistafate, his 3-year-old's victory in the El Camino Real was a welcomed reward—especially when the son of Scat Daddy bred by Pursuit of Success missed the cutoff for a spot in the Run for the Roses.

"I think it's a great idea," said Wright, whose horse is the 6-1 third choice in the Preakness. "Because we knew we had a spot in the Preakness, when we saw we were on the outside looking in at the Kentucky Derby, we didn't wait around in Kentucky trying to get into the race. We went home to California and pointed toward the Preakness. I hope we do well Saturday and they keep the program going. It's a big thing for horsemen at a track like Golden Gate."

That the program would include races at fellow TSG tracks was a no-brainer, yet the addition of a race at Oaklawn Park changed the dynamic. Due to Oaklawn Park's expanded meet, additional stakes were needed, and the first running of the $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational, a 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds May 4, helped to fill the void. 

For some trainers—think Ken McPeek, who ran Harvey Wallbanger (seventh) in the Oaklawn Park stakes—there was little interest in running two weeks later in the Preakness. Yet for the victorious Laughing Fox, who was fourth in the Arkansas Derby (G1) but failed to accumulate enough points to start in the Kentucky Derby, the Oaklawn race was a springboard to Baltimore and an example of the benefits that can arise from different racetracks working together.

"It was an off-the-wall idea. It was trying something new and trying to extend our hand to other racetracks. The way to make this industry better is by working together, and that's what I want to try to do," Merz said. "It was great working with Oaklawn, and hopefully in the future we can create some other awesome programs with them and other tracks."

Jed Doro, the director of racing at Oaklawn Park, said it is too early to judge the impact of having an automatic entry assigned to the Oaklawn Invitational, but added he believes it's a positive any time racetracks can work in unison.

"We're still wondering what it's done. It's a little soon to judge. I think it helped because it gave horses an extra incentive to run in our race as long as they were Triple Crown-nominated," he said. "It doesn't hurt for all of us to work together. We worked all winter with the New York Racing Association on the Cross Country Pick 5. That definitely helped us. If other places want to tie in with us, why not? Though that's for down the line and the phone hasn't rang yet, but I think it was a positive in getting people to work together."

Merz said the automatic spots are part of a push to improve the quality of the stakes program in Maryland. 

The March 29 Orchid Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park (another TSG track) offered a free spot in the $100,000 Searching Stakes, a new turf stakes at 1 1/2 miles for fillies and mares, to the top three Orchid finishers, and Triton Stable's Ickymasho, a daughter of Multiplex bred by Allseasons Bloodstock who was second by a head in the Orchid, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of nine for Saturday's race.

Merz added that Maryland stakes also include a provision granting free entry to grade 1 winners in the past year, while the $150,000 Bald Eagle Derby, a 1 1/2-mile turf race for 3-year-olds Sept. 21 at Laurel, offers a free spot to grade 1 and grade 2 winners in the previous 12 months.

"We're doing everything we can to improve our stakes schedule," Merz said. "We're working to get more graded winners into our races so we can get our stakes graded."