Preakness Profile: Ny Traffic
In the days leading up to Saturday’s 145th Preakness, usracing.com will be publishing profiles of the 11 horses entered in 2020’s final leg of the Triple Crown.
By Ed McNamara
Ny Traffic – Courtesy of Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.
Before finishing a career-worst eighth in the Kentucky Derby, he was 4-for-4 (three seconds) in the money in graded stakes this year. Problem: He didn’t win any of those races.
It’s possible that like beaten favorite Tiz the Law, Ny Traffic disliked Churchill Downs’ quirky surface. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. decided to give him another chance in the Preakness after watching him breeze 4 furlongs in 48 seconds, second fastest at the distance, Sunday at Churchill. It was his first timed workout since the Sept. 5 Derby.
Ny Traffic chased Authentic in the Derby and was only a length behind after 6 furlongs. He was fourth after a mile before he began to drop back. He had just lost by a nose to Authentic in the Haskell, so he was expected to run much better in Louisville.
Can he regain the form he showed that day at Monmouth? Difficult, but not impossible. I don’t see Ny Traffic ending his stakes slump Saturday, but I give him a better chance than many of his rivals. Probably will be a pace casualty again, but not the worst stab with a small wager at big odds.
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Ny Traffic
Odds: 15-1
Post position: No. 7
Jockey: Horacio Karamanos
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Owner: John Fanelli, Cash Is King LLC, LC Racing, Paul Braverman
Career record: 10-2-3-2
Career earnings: $565,470
Top Equibase speed figure: 109
Pedigree: Cross Traffic-Mamie Reilly, by Graeme Hall
Color: Gray
Running style: Front-runner/stalker
Notes: Paco Lopez rode Ny Traffic in the Derby, but he’ll be on Max Player for Steve Asmussen in the Preakness.
Preakness Stakes Odds
| 1 | Excession | Sheldon Russell | 30-1 |
| 2 | Mr. Big News | Gabriel Saez | 12-1 |
| 3 | Art Collector | Brian Hernandez Jr. | 5-2 |
| 4 | Swiss Skydiver | Robby Albarado | 6-1 |
| 5 | Thousand Words | Florent Geroux | 6-1 |
| 6 | Jesus’ Team | Jevian Toledo | 30-1 |
| 7 | NY Traffic | Horacio Karamanos | 15-1 |
| 8 | Max Player | Paco Lopez | 15-1 |
| 9 | Authentic | John Velazquez | 9-5 |
| 10 | Pneumatic | Joe Bravo | 20-1 |
| 11 | Liveyourbeastlife | Trevor Mccarthy | 30-1 |
Ed McNamara is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about thoroughbred racing for 35 years. He has handicapped races for ESPN.com, Newsday and The Record of New Jersey. He is the author of “Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown” and co-author of “The Most Glorious Crown,” a chronicle of the first 12 Triple Crown champions.