Kentucky Derby Winner Rich Strike Not Running In Preakness Stakes

BALTIMORE, MD — Rich Strike will not run in the Preakness Stakes following his major upset to win the Kentucky Derby, keeping horse racing from having a Triple Crown winner for a fourth consecutive year.

Owner Rich Dawson made the announcement by the Maryland Jockey Club, 10 days before the race in Maryland.

Here's the statement he issued below:

Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the KY Derby, should we not run in the Derby we would point toward the Preakness, should we run in the Derby, subject to the race outcome & the condition of our horse, we would give him more recovery time & rest and run in the Belmont, or another race and stay on course to run with 5 or 6 weeks rest between races.

Obviously, with our tremendous effort & win in the Derby it's very, very tempting to alter our course & run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group, however, after much discussion & consideration with my trainer, Eric Reed & 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 5 weeks.

We thank the wonderful Preakness & Pimlico folks that have reached out to us & very much appreciate the invite.

We wish you all a great race!!!!
Rick Dawson, Owner
Rich Strike (Ritchie)
Winner Derby #148

Strike was not expected to be the morning-line favorite for the Preakness, with Derby runner-up Epicenter and Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath set to be part of the field. He could have been the first Derby winner not to go off as the Preakness favorite at post time since 2012 when I’ll Have Another won the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

With Strike’s withdrawal, the Preakness will go on without the official Derby champion for the second time in four years. Country House and disqualified winner Maximum Security skipped the race in 2019.

Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit finished third in the 2021 Preakness after testing positive following the Derby for a substance not allowed on race day. Mandaloun, who was elevated to the 2021 Derby win long after Medina Spirit tested positive, did not run in the Preakness last year.

With Rich Strike pointing to the Belmont, the Preakness appears to be a wide-open race among horses back from the Derby, potentially including Zandon and fourth-place finisher Simplification. Trainer Chad Brown, who saddles Zandon, is also expected to enter Early Voting.

Horse racing has had two recent Triple Crown winners: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Each was trained by Baffert, who is currently serving a suspension in Kentucky for medication violations that is being observed in Maryland and elsewhere. Baffert transferred Derby horses Taiba and Messier to former assistant Tim Yakteen.

Neither is expected to run in the Preakness.

Longtime Baffert friend D. Wayne Lukas confirmed Wednesday that filly Secret Oath would run in the Preakness and decided to pick a different race next Saturday for Ethereal Road — the horse that was scratched to make room in the Derby for Rich Strike.

If You Go: What You Need To Know

The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

This year, the race is scheduled for Saturday, May 21.

PREAKNESS TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for general admission start at $60 and go up from there for concourse, clubhouse, grandstand, dining and Turfside Terrace levels. Doors open at 9 a.m.

To buy tickets for the race, click here.

NOTE: All ticket sales are final and cannot be exchanged or refunded. In the case of an event cancellation without a rescheduled date, a full refund will be automatically issued to each patron on the credit card used to purchase. To learn more about the race's ticket policy, click here.

PREAKNESS PROHIBITED ITEMS

• Drugs or weapons of any kind
• Outside food or beverage of any kind
• Glass containers of any type
• Tents
• Umbrellas of any kind
• Balloons, balls, and frisbees
• Drones of any kind
• Selfie Sticks
• Camelbacks or water bladders of any kind
• Chairs or folding chairs of any kind
• Hibachis or barbecues
• Ladders, scaffolding, or other raised devices
• Bulk or oversized carrying devices
• Non-folding, or folding, metal furniture
• Hand carts, or wheeled carts
• Backpacks & duffle bags
• Smoking and vaping are prohibited in all indoor and seating sections. Please use designated smoking areas.
• Signs/Banners
• Political attire

PREAKNESS GENERAL INFORMATION

George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Day

Friday, May 20, 2022

• Facility gates open 10 a.m.
• Turfside Terrace, Finish Line Suites and Homestretch Pavilion open at 10 a.m.
• All prohibited and permitted items are the same as Preakness Day.
• Clubhouse Lot #1, Valet Lot #2 and VIP Hayward Lot #3 open at 8:00 AM
• Rogers Lot #9 opens at 3:00 pm. Rogers Lot #9 will be available for Preakness LIVE! patrons
• Tickets may be purchased via QR code on your smart device at the gate
• All Reserved seat tickets grant access to Preakness LIVE!

Preakness LIVE!
Friday May 20, 2022

• Gates open at 3:00 PM for Preakness LIVE!
• Patrons may enter Preakness LIVE! from the Rogers Ave Entrance
• Parking on Rogers Lot #9 will open at 1:00 PM
• No tailgating will be permitted
• Tickets may be purchased via QR code on your smart device at the Gate
• Preakness LIVE! ticketholders can not go to the building side of Pimlico
• Preakness Ticket Sales Office:
• 877-206-8042
• or visit www.Preakness.com

PREAKNESS SECURITY

• All persons and their camera bags, purses and all containers entering Pimlico grounds are subject to direct physical search, or indirect search by wanding or magnetometers.
• Pimlico reserves the right, and without refund of the ticket purchase price, to refuse admission to or eject any person whose conduct is deemed by Pimlico to be disorderly, or who is under the age of 21 and possesses alcohol.

GETTING TO PREAKNESS

MTA BUS, METRO SUBWAY, LIGHT RAIL & SHUTTLE BUS

• Shuttle to Metro Station located at the corner of Hayward Avenue and Park Heights Avenue (Saturday Only)
• Shuttle to Light Rail located at the corner of Belvedere Avenue and Park Heights Avenue (Saturday Only)• Baltimore Area: 410-539-5000• Toll Free: 1-866-RIDE MTA (743-3682)
• TTY: 410-539-3497
• www.mtamaryland.com

RIDE SHARE
The designated drop off and pickup for ALL RIDESHARE vehicles will be located on the corner of

Northern Parkway and Winner Ave.

SPECIAL TRAFFIC PATTERNS*

• W. Rogers Ave. will be closed to all vehicle traffic from Winner Ave. to Northern Pkwy. from 6 p.m. Thursday, May 19 until 11 p.m. Preakness night, May 21st. (Pedestrian foot traffic only).
• Winner Ave. will be one-way Northbound from Hayward Ave. to Northern Parkway beginning at 6:00 PM Thursday, May 19th until 11:00 PM Preakness night, May 21st.• Hayward Ave. will be one-way Eastbound from Park Heights Ave. to Winner Ave. beginning at 7 a.m. Preakness morning, May 21st until 9 p.m.
• Horsemen: Horseman will enter the Hayward Avenue main entrance and proceed to the stable gate entrance.

*Traffic patterns may be subject to change.

Preakness Lost & Found

LOST & FOUND

• For Grandstand and Clubhouse, LOST & FOUND is at the security office on the 1st floor of the Grandstand.
• For Infieldfest LOST & FOUND is located at the information booth.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.