Early Returns Are In for the Preakness

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Charismatic’s upset win in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby was hard to believe. It was just as unbelievable the morning after the Derby at Churchill Downs, where trainers with defeated horses were lining up to go against Charismatic in the Preakness. The second leg of the Triple Crown will be run at Pimlico on May 15.

Besides Charismatic, 11 other Derby horses may go on to Pimlico. Standing by are at least five horses that didn’t run in the Derby. Unlike the Derby, which limits the field to 20, the smaller Pimlico track can accommodate only 14, with the starters determined by total earnings in all races if there’s an overflow at the entry box.

Trainer Bob Baffert, whose hopes for a third consecutive Derby win were dashed when his three horses could finish no better than fourth, plans to run the filly Silverbulletday--the Kentucky Oaks winner--and Prime Timber, fourth in the Derby, in the Preakness. Baffert won the Preakness with Silver Charm and Real Quiet the last two years.

Baffert has no plans for General Challenge and Excellent Meeting, who were 11th and fifth, respectively, after going off favored while running as an entry Saturday.

Baffert didn’t want it to sound like sour grapes, but he suggested Sunday that Churchill Downs should consider restricting the Derby to 14 horses.

“Somebody could get hurt the way it is,” Baffert said. “Menifee [the second-place finisher] and Excellent Meeting had horrible trips. If the field was only 14, it’d be more of a competition than a crapshoot.”

Charismatic, who had won only three of 14 starts--one via a disqualification--before the Derby, was one of only a few horses to get a clean trip in the 125th Derby. His $64.60 win payoff was the third highest in Derby history. Not surprisingly, trainer Wayne Lukas, winning his fourth Derby, thinks 20-horse fields are fine.

“Some of us [trainers]--me, Baffert, Nick Zito and Elliott Walden--would be better off if they reduced the field,” Lukas said. “Because then it’d just be us and a few others. But it would be unfair to the [trainer] who only gets a shot once every 12 years. You can’t expect people to buy top-priced bloodstock and then keep them out of the race. You limit the field and you spoil the dream.

“[Traffic problems] in the Derby are what makes the Derby unique. As for safety, you’ve got world-class riders and a safe surface. Hell, the guys over at Indianapolis are the ones that ought to look at making the fields smaller. Drivers get killed in the Indy 500. We beat everybody that showed up. My instructions [to jockey Chris Antley] were to avoid checking [stopping] the horse, and to keep riding no matter what. That’s the way to approach the Derby.”

In the last three Derbies that Lukas has won, he has also had the third-place horses. Before Charismatic and Cat Thief on Saturday, his other 1-3 finishes were Thunder Gulch and Timber Country in 1995, and Grindstone and Prince Of Thieves in 1996.

Both Charismatic and Cat Thief are headed for the Preakness. Besides Prime Timber, other Derby runners that might show up at Pimlico include Menifee, Kimberlite Pipe, Worldly Manner, K One King, Lemon Drop Kid, Stephen Got Even, Valhol, Adonis and Vicar. The new shooters will come from a list that includes Patience Game, Silverbulletday, Badge, Talks Cheap and Millions. The Talks Cheap ownership would have to pay $100,000 to supplement the horse into the Preakness.

There have been 14 or more starters in the Preakness only eight times.

The biggest field was 18 in 1928. Since then, the only 14-horse fields came in 1970 and 1992.

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When Winning Colors accounted for Wayne Lukas’ first Derby win, in 1988, Lukas credited his son and assistant trainer, Jeff, for the work he did with the filly.

Jeff Lukas attended Saturday’s Derby. He used to head one of the stable’s divisions outside California, but has been working alongside his father since his accident in 1993. The younger Lukas suffered multiple skull fractures when Tabasco Cat, yet to win the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, crashed into him at Santa Anita.

“Jeff got very emotional when Charismatic won,” Wayne Lukas said. “He seems to get that way a lot since the accident.”

Horse Racing Notes

Scotty Schulhofer, who trains Lemon Drop Kid, said he might reconsider running his colt in the Preakness if there was a big field. . . . Trainer Carl Nafzger said that if Vicar draws an outside post position at Pimlico, he will be scratched.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

PREAKNESS STAKES

RACE FACTS

WHEN

May 15

POST

2:30 p.m. PDT

WHERE

Pimlico Race Course,

Baltimore

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POSSIBLE STARTERS

Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic and Adonis, Badge, Cat Thief, K One King, Kimberlite Pipe, Lemon Drop Kid, Menifee, Millions, Patience Game, Prime Timber, Silverbulletday, Stephen Got Even, Talks Cheap, Valhol, Vicar and Worldly Manner.

Maximum number of starters: 14

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* TV: Channel 7.