Preakness Stakes countdown: Crowded Trade and Midnight Bourbon review
Planet Sport continues our look at the horses in the 146th Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday May 15. Today it's Crowded Trade and Midnight Bourbon.
The 146th Preakness Stakes will be run on Saturday amid the controversy surrounding Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favourite Medina Spirit.
The Bob Baffert-trained colt tested for illegal levels of the anti-inflammatory betamethasone, but while his Derby victory is still in doubt, the Maryland Racing Commission is allowing him to run in the second jewel of the Triple Crown on Saturday.
The race has a purse of $1 million and will be contested over a mile and three-sixteenths.
Ten horses are entered for what will be the 13th of 14 races on Saturday's card at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, and we continue a countdown of the three-year-olds who will be competing in the race.
Crowded Trade (post position four, 10/1)
In the Wood Memorial, Crowded Trade was in eighth place in the bunched field after four furlongs and ended up moving forward but only made it to third place behind 72/1 Bourbonic and 15/1 Dynamic One. The result gave him enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, but his connections held him out to focus on the Preakness.
Crowded Trade is still a bit of an unknown, with just two starts in stakes races making it difficult to assess his overall talent. Two high finishes in prestigious Derby prep races give enough indication that he has a chance to contend in the Preakness, especially if he's in touch with the leaders at the top of the stretch.