BALTIMORE (AP) — Rombauer scored an 11-1 victory Saturday in the preakness, depriving Medina Sprint, the Kentucky Derby winner of Bob Baffert, of a chance to win a triple crown that would have been accompanied by a giant asterisk.
Medina Spirit finished third in the 1 3/16 mile race and was overtaken for the first time in her career after going as a 2-1 favorite. All eyes were on Medina Spirit after they failed a post-derby medicine test for the presence of the steroid betamethasone.
“I had to run out to get my position,” said John Velazquez, jockey of Medina Spirit. “I knew he would be in a hurry today. I was hoping he wouldn’t overdo it, and we did.”
Midnight Bourbon, which was 3-1, was second. Keepmeinmind was fourth and Baffert’s concert tour was ninth in the field of 10 horses.
Rombauer broke the bias of the horses that hugged the track all day on the Pimlico course, overtook Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit on the track and won by 3 1/2 lengths.
Jockey Flavien Prat won the Preakness two years after he was elevated to the rank of derby winner aboard the Country House when Maximum Security was disqualified.
“Of course, it’s very different when you first cross the thread: you feel this feeling,” Prat said. “It’s a lot of joy.”
Trainer Michael McCarthy won his first race for the Triple Crown, capturing the preakness in front of Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, for whom he worked as an assistant before opening his own barn. Pletcher hugged McCarthy after the race.
Rombauer belongs to John and Diane Fradkin, far from racing stables Zedan Medina, Spirit and other conglomerates horse racing. He won for the third time in seven starts.
McCarthy choked back his tears as he spoke of everyone involved with Rombauer.
“It means a lot to be here, to participate in a day like this,” he said. “Happy for the Fradkins. Just to show you that small players can also be successful in the game.”
McCarthy said this week that Rombauer’s best weapon is between his ears and his foal is training well. But few chose the long stroke to win the preakness, which was driven in front of 10,000 fans on the Pimlico course.
Baffert was not present and stayed away due to the controversy with Medina Spirit, who could still be disqualified from the derby. His victory in the derby is still at stake with a second test to analyse.
The official races in Maryland required concerts and Medina Spirit suffers tests and an additional supervision as prerequisites for running in the Preakness. Those three test series came back on Friday and allowed them to race.
With the shadow of Baffert hovering over the race, the preakness took place in front of a limited capacity of 10,000 fans, a fraction of the over 100,000 spectators that Pimlico usually packs on the third Saturday in May. The masks were always necessary because of the protocols of the city and the route.
It was a short turnaround compared to the Preakness, which took place last fall as the third stage of the Triple Crown without authorized fans.