With Risk Taking joining stablemate Crowded Trade in the Preakness field, owner Seth Klarman and trainer Chad Brown now have two shots at winning the second leg of the Triple Crown for the second time.
In 2017, the owner/trainer combo won the Preakness with Cloud Computing – the four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer’s lone victory in a Triple Crown race.
Risk Taking – Photo Courtesy of Janet Garaguso / NYRA Photo
After a win in the Withers (G3) established this son of Medaglia d’Oro as a Kentucky Derby contender, he finished seventh in the Wood Memorial (G2) after a bobble at the start and a wide run around the track.
Skipping the Derby allowed Brown and his team to regroup, and Risk Taking responded with a pair of impressive works at Belmont Park over the past two weeks. Jose Ortiz, one of the nation’s top jockeys, has the call as he seeks his first Preakness win.
See Also: Baffert Lawyer: Medina Spirit Allowed To Be Entered In Preakness
With an outside post, Brown figures there’s enough speed in the race with the likes of favorites Medina Spirit and Concert Tour that “hopefully, the field gets strung out a little before the first turn and he (Risk Taking) can drop in. Just let Jose work out his trip from there.”
Risk Taking was a late scratch last weekend’s 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan (G3) at Belmont Park, with Brown figuring the two-turn Preakness might be a better fit, not to mention the $1 million purse.
“It was a huge factor along with the distance of the race,” Brown said. “I think the longer the better for him. Both of his wins are around two turns, and I didn’t want to change anything.”
Risk Taking: Horse Stats
Post position: 9
Odds: 15-1
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Owners: Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables
Career record: 5-2-0-0
Career earnings: $200,030
Best Equibase speed figure: 102
Pedigree: Medaglia d’Oro-Run a Risk, by Distorted Humor
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Related: When Is A Derby Winner Not A Derby Winner? Ask Jockey Bobby Ussery
Notes: On May 1, Risk Taking worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.34, and followed that up on May 8 with a 5-furlong work in 1:01.76, both at Belmont Park. “His last two works were the best we’ve seen,” Brown said … Ortiz will ride in his fourth Preakness, his best previous finish was fourth aboard Good Magic (trained by Brown) in 2018 … Klarman and William H. Lawrence co-owned 2017 Preakness winner Cloud Computing.
Preakness Stakes Odds, Picks, Betting
| 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 |
Over the years while working at The Associated Press, Rich Rosenblatt became a familiar name to legions of the horse racing fans and industry insiders with his award-winning articles on horse racing and his stories from the backstretch.
In addition to being an astute observer of sports, Rosenblatt is the co-author of The All-American Chili Cookbook. His work has been seen in just about every publication in the world, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.
