Preakness day

Officiated by 1/ST Racing under a new deal which was struck last year with the Maryland Racetrack Operating Authority, this year's 150th running of the GI Preakness Stakes is featured alongside 15 stakes--seven of them graded races--which will be worth $4.3 million in purse money on Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 at Pimlico Race Course, the Stronach Group said via a Thursday release. The second oldest of the Triple Crown races, the Preakness will anchor a May 17 program of 10 stakes worth $3.25 million in purses including...

Between them, trainers Brad Cox and Mike Maker have won the two most recent runnings of the GII Dinner Party (ex Dixie S.) on the Preakness S. undercard and the accomplished conditioners look to have Saturday's renewal surrounded as well. The reigning Eclipse Award winner Cox is represented by Juddmonte's Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who was rerouted to this spot after scratching from a potential defense of his title in the May 5 Opening Verse S. at Churchill Downs. Winner of that track's GII Wise Dan S. last June,...

Steve Asmussen looks to take his sixth renewal of the GIII Chick Lang S.--and third straight--Saturday at Pimlico with Cogburn (Not This Time). Graduating at second asking at Churchill Downs in September, he kicked off his sophomore season on a winning note with a decisive optional claimer score at Oaklawn Mar. 25. He came up a neck short of re-opposing Whelen Springs (Street Sense) last time in that venue's Bachelor S. Apr. 30. That Arkansas-bred rival took five tries to break his maiden, finally doing so against other locals in...