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Crude Velocity Is Out

The Preakness draw is this afternoon. Post positions, morning line, and the final field of 14 — all coming today. We'll update after it drops.

But the biggest news already happened: Crude Velocity, the 6/4 favorite, is OUT. Baffert scratched him Friday. The horse who destroyed the Pat Day Mile field, the horse Sean Boarman singled in the LP5, the horse JK said would win the Preakness if he showed up — he's not showing up.

Express Kid is also out (trainer Justin Evans confirmed Sunday), as is Smoovin Saturday.

That leaves a genuinely wide-open Preakness — no Derby winner, no heavy favorite, and a 14-horse field where the top of the market is up for grabs. Silent Tactic and Chip Honcho figure to be your new co-favorites.

Bull by the Horns — rider TBD
Chip Honcho — Jose Ortiz
Corona de Oro — John Velazquez
Crupper — Junior Alvarado
Great White — Alex Achard
Iron Honor — Flavien Prat
Napoleon Solo — Paco Lopez
Ocelli — Tyler Gaffalione
Pretty Boy Miah — Ricardo Santana Jr.
Robusta — Rafael Bejarano
Silent Tactic — Irad Ortiz Jr.
Taj Mahal — Sheldon Russell
Talkin — Kendrick Carmouche
The Hell We Did — Luis Saez

Two Derby horses are coming back after all: Ocelli (3rd at 70-1) and Robusta (14th). That makes them the only Derby-to-Preakness runners this year — the thinnest connection between the two legs in modern history.

Chip Honcho

Asmussen / Jose Ortiz — The DRF's Grening had a terrific piece on Asmussen's reasoning for skipping the Derby — the massive Churchill crowd makes Chip Honcho aggressive and hard for a rider to manage. Laurel, capped at 4,800, is a completely different atmosphere. "Limited attendance at Laurel as opposed to what they get in that run to the first turn for the Derby, this gives him a way better chance to show who he was." And on the jockey: "The hottest rider in the world riding him? I kind of like that." Chip Honcho was second to Paladin in the Risen Star and 5 1/2 lengths clear of Golden Tempo that day.

👉 Read: Chip Honcho Playing to Smaller Crowd Might Pay Off (DRF)

Napoleon Solo

Summers / Paco Lopez — The BloodHorse feature on Napoleon Solo is worth your time. The Champagne winner arrived at Laurel Sunday — a G1 winner who's been 0-for-2 this year at two-turn distances. Owner Al Gold: "Me and all my friends are old enough for Social Security. Let's take a chance. People don't know how far he might run, so they might let him go, thinking they can catch him." Summers says the egg shoe before the Wood was the issue: "We were training just to make the race rather than win it. Since he's back in his old shoes, he's back to his old self."

👉 Read: Napoleon Solo Eyes Starring Role in Preakness (BloodHorse)

Silent Tactic

Casse / Irad Ortiz Jr. — The Derby scratch with a bruised foot. Never worse than second in six starts. The Arkansas Derby runner-up to Renegade — who then ran second in the Derby. Irad on board is significant — the jockey who finished second in the Derby on Renegade now has a legitimate Preakness contender.

Taj Mahal

Russell / Sheldon Russell — 3-for-3, all at Laurel. Has literally never raced anywhere else. The ultimate home court advantage. Brittany Russell winning the Preakness after DeVaux won the Derby would be back-to-back female trainers in Triple Crown races.

Ocelli

Beckman / Gaffalione — Went from "extremely unlikely" to "maybe" to "we're running." The Derby maiden who stuck his head in front at the 16th pole. Still winless in seven starts.

Black-Eyed Susan Day is Friday at Laurel — 14 races, three graded stakes. The G2 Black-Eyed Susan drew Sunday with a field of 10 three-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles. My Miss Mo (Saffie Joseph Jr.) drew the outside post 10. The G3 Miss Preakness has a 13-horse field including Vodka With a Twist, runner-up in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. And the G3 Pimlico Special rounds out the stakes action. We'll have coverage later this week.

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