By Margaret Ransom
Keepmeinmind was a solid juvenile, having won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs last Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs as a maiden, which came after a second-place finish in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).
Keepmeinmind – Photo Courtesy of Oaklawn Park
He hasn’t really been able to turn that form into a productive 2021 and is winless in three graded stakes, though his seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1) was better than it looked thanks to a troubled trip.
He was bred in Kentucky by Laoban’s owner/breeder Southern Equine Stables and was purchased privately by his current connections. Keepmeinmind is a large horse with no early speed, which is why he does his best running late. The Preakness will be his fourth track in his eighth career start.
He vanned to Pimlico on Tuesday for three full days of training over the Maryland oval’s main track.
Betting The Preakness: Keepmeinmind
Post position: 2
Odds: 15-1
Trainer: Robertino Diodoro
Jockey: David Cohen
Owners: Cyprus Creek Equine (Kevin Moody), Arnold Bennewith & Spendthrift Farm
Career record: 7-1-2-1
Career earnings: $424,987
Best Equibase speed figure: 99
Pedigree: Laoban-Inclination, by Victory Gallop
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notes: Keepmeinmind was named after a song by the Zac Brown Band … Diodoro, a 46-year-old native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has more than 2,670 victories since 1995, including nine in graded stakes … Keepmeinmind was his first Kentucky Derby runner and will be his first Preakness starter … jokey David Cohen will also ride in the Preakness for the first time after riding in his first Derby aboard Keepmeinmind … Spendthrift Farm as an owner was represented by Horse of the Year and runner-up Authentic a year ago, though Moody and Bennewith will have their first Preakness starters this year … Laoban raced nine times with a single win coming in the 2016 Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga … Dam Inclination never raced.
Preakness Stakes 2021 Entries
| 1 | Ram | 30-1 | D. Wayne Lukas | Ricardo Santana Jr. |
| 2 | Keepmeinmind | 15-1 | Robertno Diodoro | David Cohen |
| 3 | Medina Spirit | 9-5 | Bob Baffert | John Velazquez |
| 4 | Crowded Trade | 10-1 | Chad Brown | Javier Castellano |
| 5 | Midnight Bourbon | 5-1 | Steve Asmussen | Irad Ortiz |
| 6 | Rombauer | 12-1 | Michael McCarthy | Flavien Prat |
| 7 | France Go De Ina | 20-1 | Hideyuki Mori | Joel Rosario |
| 8 | Unbridled Honor | 15-1 | Todd Pletcher | Luis Saez |
| 9 | Risk Taking | 15-1 | Chad Brown | Jose Ortiz |
| 10 | Concert Tour | 5-2 | Bob Baffert | Mike Smith |
California native and lifelong horsewoman Margaret Ransom is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program. She got her start in racing working in the publicity departments at Calder Race Course and Hialeah Park, as well as in the racing office at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. She then spent six years in Lexington, KY, at BRISnet.com, where she helped create and develop the company’s popular newsletters: Handicapper’s Edge and Bloodstock Journal.
After returning to California, she served six years as the Southern California news correspondent for BloodHorse, assisted in the publicity department at Santa Anita Park and was a contributor to many other racing publications, including HorsePlayer Magazine and Trainer Magazine. She then spent seven years at HRTV and HRTV.com in various roles as researcher, programming assistant, producer and social media and marketing manager.
She has also walked hots and groomed runners, worked the elite sales in Kentucky for top-class consignors and volunteers for several racehorse retirement organizations, including CARMA.
In 2016, Margaret was the recipient of the prestigious Stanley Bergstein Writing Award, sponsored by Team Valor, and was an Eclipse Award honorable mention for her story, “The Shocking Untold Story of Maria Borell,” which appeared on USRacing.com. The article and subsequent stories helped save 43 abandoned and neglected Thoroughbreds in Kentucky and also helped create a new animal welfare law known as the “Borell Law.”
Margaret’s very first Breeders’ Cup was at Hollywood Park in 1984 and she has attended more than half of the Breeders’ Cups since. She counts Holy Bull and Arrogate as her favorite horses of all time. She lives in Pasadena with her longtime beau, Tony, two Australian Shepherds and one Golden Retriever.
