Turf Angels.com

The tension at the ESPN Zone was palpable; even though the press was downstairs, and the owners upstairs. Several of the post positions had already been drawn, and other than Closing Argument, none of the favorites had come up. Post after post went by, and still no sign of Giacomo or Afleet Alex. Using a system only the college bowl might understand, each horse had been given a random number, and then pill pulled out of a jar that had a number, the two were matched, and only then, could the lucky connections pick yet another number, the one that will be carried on the horse’s saddlecloth, and if no horses scratch, the post the horse will break from. For example, the first pill to come out was fourteen, who matched Closing Argument. We thought he would go last (or fourteenth) but instead, a delighted Kieran McLaughlin went first.

Horse after horse went by, and the gate slowly filled, but still no sign of the Derby runners. For all the tension as to the order, the actual positions were not all that surprising, with speed horses aiming towards the inside posts, and the closers towards the outside. Statistics were thrown about, such as the luckiest post, and much was made of how posts thirteen and fourteen had never won the Preakness (of course, the stat gurus didn’t bother to state how many times there have been thirteen starters or more). And still the posts clicked away. Afleet Alex’s name finally came up, and his connections took the number 12 spot, which is what he was in the Derby. Soon, only two horses remained.

Giacomo was the thirteenth to pick. Horsemen are by nature a superstitious lot. Would they take the thirteen? In our opinion, Going Wild is pure speed and gunning to the lead. Do you want to risk Going Wild ducking in and wiping out your chances at the start? Fourteen, we thought. The audio cut out, Giacomo’s number went into the fourteen slot, and then immediately went to thirteen instead. We were dying to hear the connections’ rationale. In an absurd maneuver, the officials went through the charade of picking the fourteenth horse, making Lukas dutifully pick the only slot left for Going Wild, rather than simply plugging that number in by default.

After that, the connections came down to the press area, where reporters were waiting to pounce. Rather than join the bedlam known as the reporters anxious to get quotes from the Giacomo camp, we decided to focus on some of the other contenders first. Scrappy T’s connections were very happy with the post, and would have picked it even if they had gone first. While we were frankly confused by the post order, Scrappy T’s trainer thought, “it added a lot of excitement, waiting for your number to be drawn.” The tough colt with a lot of heart was ready to run, and his trainer wasn’t really concerned about the long (20/1) odds, noting, “It seems like every time he runs, he goes off at long odds. That's fine.” Race strategy would wait until he could talk it over with Ramon Dominguez.

While Tim Ritchey, trainer of Afleet Alex, would have preferred to have been closer to the inside, he still was pleased with his colt. Like many of the other trainers, he would not commit to a strategy, until he had had time to look over and absorb the full impact of who was starting from where. The busy trainer was logging the miles, commuting between Delaware and Pimlico, but didn’t mind the extra time, describing it as “part of the job.” He compared the race to Nascar, hoping for a better trip this time around.

Finally, on to Giacomo. John Shirreffs explained the rationale behind tempting fate with the number thirteen, rather than fourteen. It would be better to be the next to last horse loading, rather than the last, as it would give the horse time to settle. When asked about Going Wild cutting Giacomo off, Sheriffs pointed out that having a horse to the outside would help keep Giacomo from cutting out to the outside at the start. Several reporters challenged him to respond to comments that this was one of the worst Derbies ever. John replied that “it all depends upon your perspective,” and noted that other commentators have described this as the best since Thunder Gulch. He also noted that winning the Derby “affects so many people beyond the immediate connections,” and then gave a "shoutout" to the Turf Angels. He was looking for a similar race to the Derby for the grey son of Holy Bull, and described the colt as very consistent. His main concern prior to the Derby was how good he would stack up against the East Coast horses, and got his answer, as the West Coast filled four of the first six slots. The main issue for the colt? The two week turnaround.

All in all, the draw was the star-filled, big name event that was promised, with all the atmosphere, and terrific food, one could ask for. If the Preakness is as suspenseful as the draw, fans will be in for one heck of a show.

Preakness Post Position Draw by Laura Ferguson

Preakness Post Position Draw
by Laura Ferguson