Temperatures in the mid-to-high 80s, sunny skies, and a slight chance of rain is the forecast for the 150th Preakness Stakes.
Thats good news for horseplayers showing up at Pimlico Race Course to bet on the for 14-race Preakness card, highlighted by Journalism taking on eight rivals in the second leg of the Triple Crown.
It was a different story on Friday: Margie’s Intention, a new arrival to top-flight fillies trained by Brad Cox, splashed past Paris Lily in the stretch and won the rainstorm-delayed $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2).
The Black-Eyed Susan, scheduled to go off at 5:44 p.m. ET was delayed 74 minutes as fans were told to shelter inside the building, and at 6:58 p.m., the field of nine 3-year-old fillies were racing over a sloppy and sealed track.
The 5-2 favorite came through under Flavien Prat and won by three-quarters of a length for owners WinStar Farm and Baron Stable.
Margie’s Intention ($7 on a $2 win bet) The filly had been trained by Brendan Walsh before Winstar became a partner and moved the horse to Cox, who also trains the unbeaten Kentucky Oaks winner Good Cheer (7-for-7) as well as Immersive (4-for-4).
The race after the Black-Eyed Susan was canceled, trimming the card to 13 races. Heavy rain, wind, and lightning had racing officials hit Pimlico just as the horses crossed the finish line in the race before the Black-Eyed Susan.
Margie’s Intention, who raced against fellow Louisiana breds in her five previous races, stepped up big time for Cox.
“We thought she would like the mile and an eighth and she pretty much needed all of it to get there,’’ said Cox. “Turning for home, I knew she had momentum going forward and I knew the filly on the lead (Paris Lily) had set a pretty solid pace and she was tough to run down. She ran a big race. We haven’t had her that long, but she performed well on an off track this winter.”
Walsh was disappointed but had no issues with his filly’s effort.
“It's a little unfortunate she got collared. But [she] ran great. No complaints. We set out to do what we did, and it [almost] worked. We can't complain. We went to the lead. They were right behind us. He (Rosario) did what he had to do. He said she ran great. She just got a little leg-weary the last 50 yards. Beaten a length. Hats off to them."
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
