Rich Strike, the 80-1 long shot that won Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, will bypass a shot at racing’s triple crown by skipping the Preakness to focus on the Belmont Stakes.
The colt, which thrilled over 100,000 fans at Churchill Downs in the 148th “Run for the Roses,” needs to rest up for the third race of the sport’s coveted triple crown, said owner Rick Dawson. The horse known to its team as “Ritchie” has already made history by being the second-longest shot to win in the Kentucky Derby 148-year history.
“Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the KY Derby, should we not run in the derby we would point toward the Preakness, should we run in the Derby, subject to the race outcome & the condition of our horse, we would give him more recovery time & rest and run in the Belmont, or another race and stay on course to run with 5 or 6 weeks rest between races,” Dawson said in a statement on Thursday.
#BREAKING: Owner Rick Dawson released a statement Thursday afternoon confirming that Rich Strike will not be running in the Preakness, but will pursue a post position in the Belmont Stakes in June. https://t.co/k5cLOwyMLD
— Spectrum News 13 (@MyNews13) May 12, 2022
The Preakness will be run at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore May 21. The Belmont Stakes is set for Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on June 11.
Rich Strike came from behind to win the Kentucky Derby by 3/4 of a length over Epicenter and third-place finisher Zandon. Rich Strike’s team won $1.86 million of the Derby’s $3 million purse. Nearly 16 million viewers watched the race on NBC.
The only time a horse overcame longer odds to win the race was in 1913, when Donerail triumphed after closing as a 91-1 longshot. Rich Strike was only added to the field Friday after Ethereal Road dropped out.
The colt was an even bigger underdog in Las Vegas, where some sports books had him as long as 300-1.
“I don’t know how [to put the win into word]. I fell down in the paddock when he hit the wire. I about passed out. I’m so happy,” trainer Eric Reed said after the race. “This is something, you know, is the reason everybody does this, because we’re not supposed to be here, but I knew this horse loved the track, and we’ve been training so good all year.”
Reed came under fire Thursday after he was asked on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” program if he was the author of a tweet saying Harris was “good on her knees.” The tweet was sent by a Twitter user who has the same name and goes by @daddyrabbit1964.