Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike to skip Preakness, look toward Belmont

Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier Journal

May 12, 2022 at 3:24 PM·4 min read

Rich Strike, who shocked the horse racing world by winning Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at 80-1 odds, is off the Triple Crown trail.

Owner Rick Dawson announced Thursday that Rich Strike will skip the Preakness on May 21 at Pimlico and aim for a return in the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont on June 11.

Dawson said the plan before the Kentucky Derby was to give Rich Strike “more recovery time and rest and run in the Belmont or another race and stay on course to run with five or six weeks rest between races.

Horse racing news in your hand: Download The Courier Journal app today

“Obviously, with our tremendous effort and win in the Derby, it’s very, very tempting to alter our course and run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group. However, after much discussion and consideration with my trainer, Eric Reed, and 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 five weeks.”

2022 Preakness: A look at the possible field for the race

Rich Strike: 'Seriously?' Kentucky Derby winner skipping Preakness sparks mixed reactions

Rich Strike scored the second-biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history Saturday. Donerail, at 91-1 odds in 1913, is the longest shot to win the race.

Why is Rich Strike not running in the Preakness?

Reed did not immediately return a call seeking comment. On Sunday morning, he was asked if he felt an obligation to run in the Preakness.

“My obligation is to Rich Strike first,” Reed said. “And if Rich is ready to go and I think it’s the right thing for him, we’re going to go. Nothing against any of these Triple Crown races, but I don’t get these horses 10 or 12 a year to try to get one of them. I need him around a long time. … I want to go. That’s naturally what we want to do.”

Jockey Sonny Leon aboard Rich Strike after winning the 148th Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2022.

At 1 3/16 miles, the Preakness is the shortest of the Triple Crown races and least likely to complement Rich Strike’s closing style. In contrast, the 1 ½-mile Belmont has the reputation of being a closer’s race.

On Sunday, Reed expressed concern about the two-week gap between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

“I’ve never been hard on him,” Reed said. “I space my workouts 10, 12 days instead of seven. I don’t like to run him (back) quick.”

Which horses are set to run in the Preakness?

Preakness officials have a list of 10 horses considered “probable” or “possible” for the race, including the rest of the Kentucky Derby superfecta — second-place Epicenter, third-place Zandon and fourth-place Simplification.

Wood Memorial runner-up Early Voting had enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby but was held back by trainer Chad Brown in order to run in the Preakness. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas announced Wednesday that Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath would run in the Preakness.

Rich Strike will become the second Kentucky Derby winner to skip the Preakness since Justify’s Triple Crown run in 2018. Country House never raced again after winning the Derby via disqualification in 2019.

Preakness 2022: A look at the possible field for the May 21 race

Rich Strike sire, race history

A son of Keen Ice out of the Smart Strike mare Gold Strike, Rich Strike was bred at Calumet Farm. After finishing 10th in his first race last August on turf at Ellis Park, he was claimed by Dawson for $30,000 after winning a Sept. 17 race by 17 ¼ lengths at Churchill.

Since then he had raced five times without ever finishing in the top two before winning the Kentucky Derby. He finished 5 ¾ lengths behind Tiz the Bomb in the Jeff Ruby Steaks, earning the 20 points he needed to qualify for the Kentucky Derby.

Rich Strike has a record of 2-0-3 in eight career starts and earnings of $1,971,289, including the $1.86 million Derby paycheck.

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Preakness field: Derby winner Rich Strike to skip race, go to Belmont

Associated Press
Tariff hikes will backfire, and China can manage such 'external shocks,' a senior official says
Higher tariffs on Chinese exports will backfire, just increasing prices paid by consumers, while China can manage to weather the impact of such “external shocks,” a senior Commerce Ministry official said Friday in Beijing. Responding to a reporter's question about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's plan to impose 60% tariffs on imports from China, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said that would "not solve the country’s own trade deficit problem.” “On the contrary, it pushes up the prices of the country’s imports from China and other countries,” Wang said during a news conference, noting that increased prices add to inflation.
AFP
Greece pushes green transition on its fragile islands
Greece this week signed a clean energy deal with the EU in a bid to fast-track the green transition on its fragile islands threatened by overtourism and climate change.Investing in "green" energy sources will "allow the islands to achieve their ecological transition", said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
AFP
Most Asian markets track Wall St gains, bitcoin closes on $100,000
Most Asian markets gained Friday after a bounce on Wall Street, while bitcoin continued its march higher to move within touching distance of the $100,000 mark.Bitcoin, meanwhile, continued its heady run higher and set a new record high of $99,368.28.
Associated Press
Laotian police detain several people in investigation of tourist deaths in tainted alcohol incident
Laotian police have detained the manager and owner of a hostel where two teenage Australian tourists stayed who were poisoned by tainted alcohol, one fatally, in a case that appears to have claimed the lives of at least five people. An officer at Vang Vieng's Tourism Police office, who refused to give his name, told The Associated Press on Friday that a “number of people” had been detained in the case but that no charges have yet been filed. Staff at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, which was still operating but not accepting new guests, confirmed that the manager and owner were among those taken in for questioning.
NBC News
Flooding in California as more winds are set to hit battered Northwest
Forecasters warned of more high winds headed to the battered Pacific Northwest, while an atmospheric river continued to dump heavy rain on California.
USA TODAY
Puzzle solutions for Friday, Nov. 22, 2024
Find answers to the latest online sudoku and crossword puzzles that were published in USA TODAY Network's local newspapers.
Reuters
Bahamas debt swap unlocks $124 million for ocean protection
The Bahamas has unlocked more than $120 million to fund the conservation and management of its oceans and mangroves with a debt swap financed by Standard Chartered and backed by the private sector. By spending $215.7 million to buy back Eurobonds and repurchasing an $81 million commercial bank loan using a lower-cost $300 million loan from Standard Chartered, the Bahamas is able to redeploy the interest and principle payment savings to fund wide-reaching ocean conversation projects. So-called debt for nature swaps are emerging as an important tool to help countries achieve their conservation and climate goals and close the $942 billion nature finance gap BloombergNEF estimates is needed to restore and maintain biodiversity globally.
Associated Press
The Bahamas will refinance part of its debt to protect its famous turquoise waters
The Bahamas announced Friday that it will refinance $300 million of its external debt to free up more than $120 million for marine conservation projects and climate change mitigation. It is the fifth such debt-for-nature swap in the world, with the Bahamian government signing the deal with The Nature Conservancy, the Inter-American Development Bank and other financial partners. “We see this project not just supporting the biodiversity and climate objectives of the country, but ultimately the economy and livelihoods of many, many folks,” Shenique Albury-Smith, the Bahamas-based deputy director for The Nature Conservancy, told The Associated Press.
Associated Press
South Korea finds Russia supplied anti-air missiles to North Korea in return for its troops
Russia has supplied anti-air missiles to North Korea in exchange for it sending troops, a top South Korean official said Friday. The U.S., South Korea and others say North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. What Russia would give North Korea in return has been the focus of keen attention.
AFP
Irish economy faces the test of Trump's protectionism
With a general election next week, Ireland and its 5.4 million inhabitants fear finding themselves in the eye of a protectionist storm promised by incoming US president Donald Trump.- Stewart, from Trinity College Dublin Business School, described the looming Trump presidency as "a matter of concern" but said "not to panic at this stage".
CNN
Jussie Smollett’s conviction overturned in alleged hate-crime hoax: How we got here and what’s next
Nearly six years after actor Jussie Smollett was accused of staging a hate-crime hoax in downtown Chicago and lying to police, an Illinois Supreme Court decision overturned his conviction over prosecutorial issues, according to the Associated Press.
TODAY
Missing kayaker is alive and possibly in Europe, police say. Everything to know
Ryan Borgwardt, a Wisconsin father and husband missing since August, was believed to have drowned. Now, police have confirmed he is alive and fled the country.
AFP
Gabon forest elephant forays into villages spark ire
In heavily forested Gabon, elephants are increasingly wandering into villages and destroying crops, angering the local population who demand the power to stop the critically endangered animals in their tracks.But that does not stop villagers from viewing the animals as a pervasive problem.
Associated Press
Emperor penguin released at sea 20 days after waddling onto Australian beach
The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday. The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on Ocean Beach sand dunes in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia — about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, the Western Australia state government said. The boat traveled for several hours from the state’s most southerly city of Albany before the penguin was released into the Southern Ocean, but the government didn't give the distance in its statement.
CNN
Northern California faces possible record-breaking rainfall from atmospheric river and another storm is coming
A historically strong bomb cyclone, which triggered winds that killed at least two people, is working with a powerful atmospheric river to bring heavy rain, potential flooding, gusty winds and mountain snow across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest – and another storm is on the way.
CNN
Bears find a buffet of battlefield rations at Alaska military base
Hungry bears broke into a storage room at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to feast on the military rations.
Associated Press
Countries at UN climate summit under pressure with no finance deal entering final day
From the start, COP29 has been about climate finance — money that wealthy nations are obligated to pay to developing countries to cover damages resulting from extreme weather and to help those nations adapt to a warming planet. Experts put the figure at $1 trillion or more, but draft texts that emerged Thursday after nearly two weeks of talks angered the developing world by essentially leaving blank the financial commitment. The talks often run into overtime as wealthier nations are pressed to pay for impacts caused largely by their emissions from centuries of burning fossil fuels.
NBC News
Trump names longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws
Bondi is a former Florida attorney general and was part of Trump's defense during his first impeachment trial.
NBC News
Could Matt Gaetz decide to keep his House seat? It's complicated.
Gaetz resigned from the current Congress, but he was re-elected in November to represent his Florida district. That raises the question: Could he return in January?
Associated Press
Indonesia's Prabowo plans to retire all fossil fuel plants in 15 years, but experts are skeptical
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has announced that his government plans to retire all coal and other fossil fuel-power plants while drastically boosting the country's renewable energy capacity in the next 15 years. Subianto also said he was “optimistic” Indonesia would achieve net zero emissions by 2050, a decade sooner than the country's previous 2060 commitment.

Why is Rich Strike not running in the Preakness?

Which horses are set to run in the Preakness?

Rich Strike sire, race history

Latest Stories