Preakness Stakes 2025 Probables | Sandman to be Entered in Preakness 150

BALTIMORE, MD – D J Stable LLC, St. Elias Stable LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Sandman, who finished seventh in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) following a troubled trip, will be entered in next Saturday’s 150^th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said Saturday.

“We wanted to see how he came back. He’s an extremely happy horse right now. It looks like the race might set up nice for him. It looks like there’s a fair amount of speed,” said Casse, who saddled War of Will for a Preakness triumph in 2019. “I always quote Allen Jerkens, ‘Run ‘em when they’re good,’ and he’s good right now. We were planning on waiting for the Belmont, but a lot of things can happen in between. He’s telling us he’s happy so we’re going to go with it.”

Sandman dropped far back after bumping with a rival shortly after leaving the starting gate in the Derby before rallying nine-wide to check in seventh.

“I knew when he went by us the first time that we were in big trouble. He obviously wasn’t handling the track very well, and you just don’t know how that affects them late in the race,” Casse said. “He made a middle run but did flatten out a little bit. I think War of Will ran seventh in the Derby and won the Preakness, so we’re going with that.”

Sandman entered the Derby coming off a dominating 2 ½-length triumph in the March 29 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. The son of Tapit, who had previously finished second in the Southwest (G3) and third in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn, finished third behind Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in the Street Sense (G3) at Churchill Downs last fall.

Sandman’s jockey in the Preakness was undetermined Saturday. Sandman is scheduled to ship to Pimlico Monday.

Preakness Stakes 2025 Probables

WinStar Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Pantofel Stable LLC and Wachtel Stable’s River Thames breezed a half-mile in company at Belmont Park Saturday morning in preparation for a Preakness start. The son of Maclean’s Music, who is trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, worked outside stablemate Trust Fund on his way to a clocking of 48.25 seconds, which ranked ninth of 38 recorded at the distance on the Belmont training track.

River Thames finished second by a neck behind Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in the March 1 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream before checking in three-quarters of a length behind victorious Burnham Square while finishing third in the April 6 Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. He was withheld from the Kentucky Derby while being targeted for the Preakness.

Trainer Brendan Walsh called Lexington (G3) winner Gosger a ‘go’ for the Preakness Stakes after the 3-year-old colt worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Keeneland.

Gosger worked side-by-side and finished on even terms with the 3-year-old filly Paris Lily, who is running in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico. 

“He worked really well,” Walsh said. “He worked good; so, we’re a go. I think he’s ready to take a step forward again off the last race.”

Gosger, who is owned by the estate of breeder Harvey A. Clarke, went from winning on his second attempt to winning the 1 1/16-mile Lexington. 

Although Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners president and CEO Aron Wellman was disappointed that Journalism ended up second by 1 ½ lengths to Sovereignty as the 3-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby, he was impressed with the way the colt ran under adverse conditions.

“Definitely an admirable performance that certainly validated any and all notions that he’s an elite horse,” Wellman said.

Eclipse is a partner in the Curlin colt with Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert V. LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith. Journalism came out of the Derby in good condition and is being considered for the Preakness.

Journalism’s Derby problems began moments after the gates opened when Citizen Bull, breaking from the rail, bore out as he sought to grab the lead and avoid being trapped on the rail.

“Very unfortunate that Citizen Bull veered so severely to the right leaving from the rail, Wellman said. “He impacted several horses in the field, and it was sort of a domino effect that ultimately did have some impact two or three steps out of the gate.

“The domino effect sort of hit him as well where he got pinched so that we weren’t as forward as we would have liked to have been. And then he got shuffled down towards the rail, where it got pretty physical coming past the wire the first time. I thought Umberto Rispoli did a really good job of being able to preserve the position that he had,” he added. “Even though it wasn’t the position that we wanted to be in, he didn’t relinquish any further and make a bad situation worse. I think he made the best of the hand that he was dealt.”

Wellman said it was clear to him that Rispoli was not comfortable where Journalism was traveling and probably had to use more of the colt’s energy than he would have liked.

“Turning up the backside, Umberto did a spectacular job of getting him out into the clear behind a hot pace. At that point, from the five-furlong marker to the half-mile pole, you could tell that Journalism was starting to pick up the bit.”

Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado were sitting right behind Journalism in a stalking position.

“Umberto really had no choice but to let Journalism work his way into the race on his own volition, which he did,” Wellman said. “He made a very eye-catching, bold move from the three-and-a-half-furlong pole and into the stretch where he was able to inhale the leaders and strike the front. But he never really got an opportunity to get any sort of breather or separate, because, to Sovereignty and Junior Alvarado’s credit, they were right on his tail.”

Coming off the turn and into the stretch, the Derby turned into a match race.

“From there, two really, really exceptional colts, threw it down,” Wellman said. “All credit to Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, Godolphin and Sovereignty [who] got the best of us on the day. But very proud of Journalism’s effort under less-than-ideal circumstances, the track surface being included in that. Super proud of the colt. I thought Michael McCarthy had him prepared spectacularly and Umberto Rispoli made every right move.  No complaints out of our camp.”

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By early Sunday morning, about a dozen hours after American Promise finished 16^th in the Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas had decided BC Stables LLC’s colt was headed to the Preakness Stakes.

The Derby chart that showed American Promise had finished 38½ lengths behind Sovereignty meant nothing to the 89-year-old Lukas. He had watched American Promise endure a brutal trip in the 19-horse Derby and figured the massive son of Triple Crown winner Justify deserved another chance in Maryland’s marquee race. 

While the numbers 16 and 38½ might deter other trainers, Lukas is well-known for sometimes going against the grain and running his horses in the top races in America. And Lukas understands that a disappointing result in the Derby does not preclude a top performance in the Preakness. Three of Lukas’ seven Preakness wins came after less-than satisfying finishes at Churchill Downs.

In the 55 runnings of the Preakness since 1970, there have been 13 winners – 23.6 percent – that finished fifth or worse in the Derby and found glory at Pimlico. The biggest turnaround during that stretch was turned in by Louis Quatorze, who bounced back from finishing 16^th, beaten 23¼ lengths in Louisville in 1996. Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito switched jockeys, turning to Hall of Famer Pat Day, and Day delivered on the speedy colt, who went off at 13-1 in the Preakness.

In 1986, Snow Chief won the Preakness after finishing 11^th, beaten 19½ lengths, as a 2-1 favorite in the Derby. Snow Chief’s win came after Gate Dancer took the 1984 Preakness following a fifth (by DQ from fourth) by 5 ½ lengths; and Lukas’ Tank’s Prospect, who rebounded from a seventh by 11 lengths in the 1985 Derby.

Hansel won the 1991 Preakness after finishing 10^th by 10¾ lengths in the Derby; Pine Bluff wore the Black-Eyed Susans at Pimlico in 1992 following his fifth-place finish by 7 ¼ lengths at Churchill. Lukas picked up his third Preakness score in 1994 when Tabasco Cat, sixth by nine lengths in the Derby, prevailed. The Bob Baffert-trained Point Given added to the resume that carried him to the 3-year-old male division title and Horse of the Year award in the Preakness two weeks after he was fifth, beaten 11 ½ lengths in the Derby.  Baffert’s Lookin At Lucky won the 2010 Preakness following his sixth by seven lengths in Louisville.

Lukas saddled Oxbow to win the 2013 Preakness at 15-1 after he was sixth, beaten 9 ¾ lengths in the Derby. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse secured his first Preakness win in 2017 with War of Will, who was seventh in the Derby, though only beaten by 4 ½ lengths.

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s Clever Again went out for a routine gallop Saturday at Churchill Downs in preparation for making his first graded-stakes appearance in the Preakness. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen plans to work Clever Again a half-mile on Monday and ship to Baltimore Tuesday. 

Clever Again was away from the races for 10 months after finishing second in a 4 1/2-furlong race at Keeneland’s 2024 spring meet. He came back to win a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Oaklawn Park, followed by a four-length victory in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes at a two-turn mile.

“He had a few issues and had to take some time off,” co-owner Ron Winchell said before the Kentucky Derby, in which he had Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Tiztastic. “We let horses tell us when they’re ready to come back. Unfortunately, he got a little behind on the calendar. We were hoping to get [to the Derby], just like Tiztastic. Instead, the best path was to the Preakness.

“We’re pretty confident he can carry his speed a long distance,” he added. “He’s very professional. He acts like a horse who just wants to do it. Mentally, he’s doing great. Physically, he’s doing great, and they think he’s coming into his own.”

RKTN Racing’s Pay Billy returned to the track Saturday at Delaware Park, two days after putting in his final breeze for the Preakness. Raul Mena is named to ride Pay Billy, who is scheduled to ship to Pimlico Tuesday.

“He galloped today and galloped nice,” trainer Mike Gorham said. “Everything looks good. He did everything right, cooled out good. We’re pretty much on target.”

Jim and Claire Limited’s Heart of Honor, the UAE Derby (G2) runner-up who arrived in the U.S. Thursday following a trans-Atlantic flight from Great Britain, is scheduled to clear quarantine at Churchill Downs Sunday. The Jamie Osborne-trained son of Honor A. P. is slated to van to Pimlico Monday and take to the racetrack Tuesday in preparation for a start in the Preakness.