Todd Pletcher announced on Tuesday that he will not have an entrant in this weekend’s Preakness Stakes at Pimilco Race Course in Baltimore. Among the horses that Pletcher was considering for the race were sixth-place Kentucky Derby finisher Materiality, Carpe Diem (10th place at the Derby), Competitive Edge and Stanford.
Preakness 2015: Todd Pletcher will not have any horses in Saturday’s race
Pletcher hasn’t had a Preakness starter since 2011 and has never won the second leg of the Triple Crown.
This is hardly a surprise for the 47-year-old trainer, who rarely runs horses on two weeks of rest. Pletcher hasn’t had a Preakness starter since 2011 (Dance City) and has never won the race. His best finish was third place by Impeachment in 2000.
“It came down to we just felt two weeks was a little bit risky,” Pletcher told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “We felt five weeks to the Belmont would be an advantage for him (Materiality). He’s been at Belmont since two days after the Derby and has been training well.”
Pletcher should have a stable of fresh horses now to run at the Belmont Stakes on June 6. Materiality and Carpe Diem are expected to start that race, while Competitive Edge and Stanford are possibilities for the undercard at Belmont on June 6.
Without Pletcher’s entries, the Preakness field could be one of the smallest in nearly two decades. There are just seven horses projected to run in the race as of Wednesday: American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund, Danzig Moon, Divining Rod, Bodhisattva and Tale of Verve.
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