BALTIMORE (AP) – Early voting stopped stubborn favorite Epicenter to win Preakness Stakes on Saturday, confirming the decision to miss the Kentucky Derby and strive for a rematch of the Triple Crown.
Early voting lurked behind the leaders for most of the race before taking the lead around the last turn. He finished 1 1/4 ahead of Epicenter, who finished second, as he did in the Derby.
Preakness was run without the winner of the Kentucky Derby Rich Strike, after its owner gave priority to the extra break over the chance to win the Triple Crown.
Early Voting, who finished 5-1, gave coach Chad Brown his second victory in Preakness. It is also owned by Klaravich Stables, which won the competition in 2017 with Cloud Computing.
Jockey Jose Ortiz won Preakness for the first time. He had never finished higher than fourth in four previous races in the race.
The early vote ended in first place in a field of nine horses, including a Secret Oath mare and three who returned after taking part in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago. Early Voting, son of Gun Runner, won for the third time in four career races to take the winner’s $ 900,000 share of the $ 1.65 million bag.
“He got his free time,” assistant coach Baldo Hernandez said this week. “He’s in good shape.”
It was in good enough shape to cope with some adverse weather conditions. The 147th edition of Preakness was held in near-record heat, with temperatures rising to the 1990s as horses entered the starting door.
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