The Surprise Winner of the Kentucky Derby Will Skip the Preakness

There will be no Triple Crown champion this year after the owner of the Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike announced Thursday that his colt would skip the Preakness Stakes and run instead in the Belmont Stakes.

The owner, Rick Dawson, said Rich Strike came out of the Derby in fine shape on Saturday. But he said that he and the trainer, Eric Reed, had decided not to push the colt into the second leg of the Triple Crown in Baltimore on May 21 after only two weeks of rest, especially after winning America’s most famous horse race (and a legion of fans) as an 80-1 shot.

The colt did not even draw into the Derby field until the day before the race, when Ethereal Road was scratched.

“Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the Kentucky Derby. Should we not run in the Derby we would point toward the Preakness,” Dawson said in a statement. “Should we run in the Derby, subject to the race outcome and the condition of our horse, we would give him more recovery time.”

Dawson said one possible plan was to run the horse, nicknamed Ritchie, in the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 11, but in any event to give him five to six weeks between races.

“Obviously, with our tremendous effort and win in the Derby, it’s very, very tempting to alter our course and run in the Preakness at Pimlico, which would be a great honor for all our group,” Dawson said. “However, after much discussion and consideration with my trainer, Eric Reed, and a few others, we are going to stay with our plan of what’s best for Ritchie is what’s best for our group, and pass on running in the Preakness, and point toward the Belmont in approximately five weeks.”