The Road: Qualifying Races Put Horses on Preakness Path

With 14 horses entered, a full field of 3-year-olds is expected for this year's $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) May 16 in a planned one-off stop at Laurel Park. Part of the credit for that full field needs to go to the fees-paid automatic qualifying races the Maryland Jockey Club has tied to the Maryland classic. Donnie Von Hemel, trainer of Preakness longshot Crupper, confessed that he probably would not have considered a start for the Robert Zoellner homebred in the Triple Crown's middle jewel if not for the automatic bid tied to the Bathhouse Row Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile race April 18 at Oaklawn Park that Crupper won by a half-length. "It's kind of funny, because I wanted to run in the Bathhouse Row because it's a mile-and-an-eighth race, and I thought my horse was a 1 1/8-mile-plus type horse," Von Hemel said. "So he runs and wins the race, and they tell me, 'Oh, by the way you've got a chance to run in the Preakness.' "We took a couple weeks to consider everything, and with a number of the horses from the (Kentucky) Derby not coming, and the way our horse was training, we decided it was a good chance to see what we could do." While the nomination came as a surprise to Von Hemel, the qualifying races do promote the Preakness and keep the race front of mind for horsemen, especially those who may have a talented, late-developing 3-year-old where a start in the Preakness' third Saturday in May might be more realistic than targeting the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby (G1). That proved to be the case for Taj Mahal, the co-second choice on the Preakness morning line at 5-1. The son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist won his first start, but that maiden special weight debut didn't arrive until Feb. 6 at Laurel. The house horse followed with stakes wins at Laurel in the Feb. 21 Miracle Wood Stakes and April 18 Federico Tesio Stakes. That most recent win is the other qualifying race that awards a fees-paid spot in the Preakness to the winner. Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell said it played into their long-term plan for Taj Mahal. "It worked out really well for us, right?" Russell said. "We were able to get him here through our home series and it worked out well for him. It's a chance to progress and get here the right way." The Preakness also guarantees starting spots for any horse who earns purse money in the Kentucky Derby. The 1/ST Racing version of the Maryland Jockey Club began awarding these Preakness slots. While it will host its final Preakness Saturday before giving way to the new MJC's public-nonprofit model, the new MJC plans to keep the qualifying races going and perhaps add more races. "I think we're going to be open to exploring adding more races," said new MJC president and general manager Bill Knauf. "The goal would be to get 14 horses every year. You start with that and we want them competitive. You'll have some naturally from the Derby each year but these are good for these other horses. The qualifiers are adding to it this year." Like similar programs such as the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, the fees-paid aspect of these races is an added attraction. It's $30,000 to enter and start in the Preakness. "That's not a small number," Knauf said. "Not only do they save that, but I think it raises the level of excitement leading up to the race. When the winner comes out of that (qualifying) race and realizes that now they've got a golden ticket into the Preakness, it's exciting. Owners get excited. Trainers get excited. "And from the race's perspective, now we have horses coming off of a win. It may not have been the highest graded race, because those are usually reserved for the Derby, but it's one of those races where you're not sure how good that horse is (until given the opportunity). I think that adds intrigue."