Kentucky Derby winner Country House won’t run in Preakness
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Flavien Prat rode Country House to the finish line, May 4, during the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Kentucky Derby winner Country House will not run in the Preakness.
After being declared the winner of the Kentucky Derby by disqualification, Country House will not run in the Preakness, ending any chance this year at another Triple Crown.
Assistant trainer Riley Mott confirmed to The Associated Press today that the long shot winner of horse racing’s biggest event is no longer being considered to run in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Country House was elevated to the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday after Maximum Security was disqualified for impeding other horses.
Country House’s absence at the Preakness means there won’t be a third Triple Crown winner in five years. Bob Baffert-trained Justify and American Pharoah have each won it since 2015.
The Daily Racing Form was first to report that Country House was not running in the Preakness, citing trainer Bill Mott, who said the horse developed a cough and was “acting like he’s going to get sick.” Riley Mott, Bill Mott’s son, did not provide details to the AP about any possible illness.
Country Horse is the first Kentucky Derby winner not to enter the Preakness since Grindstone in 1996. Grindstone, who was found to have bone chips in one of his knees, was the first Derby winner to be retired immediately after that race since Bubbling Over in 1926.
Country House joins Maximum Security in skipping the Preakness.
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The 1 3/16-mile Preakness is May 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Though shorter than the Kentucky Derby, the race requires a quick turnaround. Maximum Security owner Gary West didn’t want to burden his colt with the Triple Crown off the table.
West on Monday appealed the decision to disqualify the horse from the Derby, which was quickly rejected by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission because the stewards’ decision isn’t subject to appeal.
Country House was 65-1 to win the Derby, the second-longest odds in the 145-year history of the race. It was the first time the horse who crossed the finish line first was not declared the winner.
The third jewel of the Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 8.
