It's sprinkling rain and snow here - at least we haven't gotten the 3 inches of golf-ball sized hail that some areas got yesterday afternoon! The Creek is running a little high, but, so far, no signs of a flood. The kits are running in and out, getting them (and me) wet.
Tomorrow is the 136th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, the filly version of the Preakness. None of the fillies who raced in the Kentucky Oaks are racing in tomorrow's race, so there will be no filly Triple Crown winner this year.
*Of the seven competitors in tomorrow's event, four were born and bred in Kentucky: Royal Delta, Coax Liberty, Wyomia, and Love Theway Youare; Hot Summer and Buster's Ready are Virginia bred; and Art Of The Hunt is Maryland bred.
*All of the entries are bay in color; and they were born between 31 January and 24 April.
*The grandsires of Royal Delta are Unbridled and A.P. Indy. The grandsires of Wyomia are Seattle Slew and Kingmambo (and she's related to Court Jester via *Forli). Actually, all of the fillies have excellent pedigrees, and going back another generation finds every one with at least one Triple Crown race-winning stallion as a great-grandsire.
So, who am I going to root for (and place my imaginary bets on)? Wyomia, as a Williston, Florida based racer, and as Court Jester's relative, of course. Hot Summer - I like the way she looks, and with Seattle Slew, Mr. Prospector, Fappiano, and Summer Squall in her pedigree, I have to pick her. And, because one of her great-grandsires is Broad Brush, my third pick will be Art Of The Hunt, the Maryland filly.
The 136th annual Preakness Stakes will occur Saturday, with a payday of $1 million. The Preakness is always run 2 weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and is 1/16 of a mile less in distance (1 and 3/16 miles). Five colts who ran in the Derby will continue on in the Preakness: Animal Kingdom (the Derby winner), Shackleford, Midnight Interlude, Dialed In, and Mucho Macho Man. As the Pimlico track is narrower than Churchill Downs, the Preakness entries are not more than 14. We have 9 new contenders in this race, none of them horses that received a lot of publicity prior to the Derby.
* Nine of the colts were born and bred in Kentucky; Flashpoint and Mucho Macho Man were bred in Florida; Norman Asbjornson is a Pennsylvania bred; Dance City is Virginia bred; and Concealed Identity is a Maryland bred gelding.
* The single grey (or roan) colt in the race is Flashpoint; the two chestnuts are, again, Shackleford and Animal Kingdom; all the others are bays.
* Mr. Commons is the oldest colt, having been foaled on January 29. Once again, Mucho Macho Man is the youngest, as he won't be three until June 15.
*Sway Away, the bay colt breaking from post position 6, was born on April 9; his great-grandsires are Afleet, Hawkster, Bold Reasoning, and Summer Squall. (And a little farther back in his pedigree is *Forli.)
The pedigrees for these colts and gelding are awesome. If you'd like to view them, you can visit http://www.bloodhorse.com/ and see both 3 and 5 generation pedigrees. Who will I pick? I'll let you know tomorrow!
~~**~~ TV Coverage: Versus TV will show "Preakness Classics" Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. EDT. Live coverage of the Black Eyed Susans Stakes will follow from 4 to 5 EDT. The fillies race is scheduled for 4:46 EDT. Saturday, you can see part of the Preakness undercard from 2:30 to 4:30 EDT on Versus; the live Preakness coverage will then transfer over to NBC from 4:30 to 6:30 EDT. **~~**
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