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Preakness Notebook Point Given rears up again before morning gallop
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Point Given was up to his usual prerace antics Friday, rearing up several times on his way to Pimlico Race Course for a morning gallop. Unlike two weeks ago when he reared up and his rider fell off the morning of the Kentucky Derby, exercise rider Pepe Aragon stayed in the saddle. "It's his way of telling us he's feeling good, ready to roll," trainer Bob Baffert said a day before saddling Point Given and Congaree in the $1 million Preakness Stakes. "We're going to have to get Pepe a Velcro saddle." Aragon is used to it. "He rears up, I stay on," Aragon said. "He must have reared a hundred times with me since I first started riding him. He's not mean. He does it and that's it." Point Given, who will be ridden by Gary Stevens, is the 3-1 third choice behind Derby winner Monarchos and stablemate Congaree.
On this dateOn May 19, 1973, Secretariat's winning performance in the Preakness was never in doubt but there was controversy involving the timing of he race. The original teletimer time was 1:55 for the 1 3-16-mile race; Pimlico amended it to 1:54 2-5 two days later -- the official time in the Preakness media guide. Daily Racing Form clockers, though, timed Big Red in 1:53 2-5, a time which equals the Preakness record by Tank's Prospect in 1983 and Louis Quatorze in 1996.
Hope for Percy Hope?If nothing else, trainer Tony Reinstedler is having a good time at his first Preakness. With a 50-1 shot in Percy Hope for Saturday's race, he might as well enjoy himself. "I don't feel any pressure whatsoever," Reinstedler said. "I've been with good horses running in big races plenty on times. The bottom line with this horse is if he's good enough to compete at this level." With 12 starts, Percy Hope has more races than any other Preakness starter. The 3-year-old colt won his last two starts -- the Lone Star Derby and Rushaway Stakes -- and has four victories, two seconds and two thirds for earnings of $428,397.
In the stretchMarciano, the Federico Tesio Stakes winner, and Bay Eagle will both ship to Pimlico from Delaware Park on Saturday morning. ... Congaree will not wear blinkers in an effort to help him relax. ... The last beaten Derby favorite to win the Preakness was Hansel in 1991. ... There are 28 Derby-Preakness winners, including 11 who went on to win the Triple Crown. ... The last favorite to win the Preakness was Timber Country in 1995.
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