Authentic fancied in Preakness
Kentucky Derby winner can give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his eighth success in the Grade 1 race
Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, who has drawn Gate 9 of 11 runners, is the favourite for the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico racecourse in in Baltimore on Sunday morning (Singapore time).
The Grade 1 race over 1,900m is traditionally held in May as the second leg of the US Triple Crown, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I'd rather be 9, than 1 or 11," said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. "It really doesn't matter as long as he breaks okay."
Baffert, who counts seven Preakness Stakes wins among his record 16 victories in Triple Crown races, will also send out Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm's Thousand Words, who will break from the fifth post.
Authentic, ridden by John Velazquez, led all the way at the Kentucky Derby. He held off a late challenge from favourite Tiz the Law down the stretch in the annual Run for the Roses.
Tiz the Law, who won the Belmont Stakes in June, is skipping the Preakness.
The Belmont Stakes, traditionally the final of the three races, went first. The Kentucky went off in early September as the second leg, instead of the first Saturday in May. - REUTERS
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