The victory of the early voting confirmed the decision made by his coaches much earlier.
BALTIMORE – Early Voting Stops Emerging Emerging Favorite Epicenter to win Preakness Bets on Saturday, confirming the decision to skip Kentucky Derby and aim for the second stage of the Triple Crown.
Early voting lagged behind the leaders for most of the race before moving into the lead in the last turn. He finished 1 1/4 of the length ahead of Epicenter, who was second, as in Derby.
“I was never worried,” Early Voting coach Chad Brown said. “When we had a good goal, I preferred it. We were fine to get ahead, but I thought from the back to defeat us, it would take a good horse. And a good horse really ran up to us near the wire, and it was about the only one who could run with us. “
The preakness took place without a Kentucky Derby Rich Strike winner after its owner preferred extra rest before a chance to win the Triple Crown. Early voting could take place in Derby, but Brown and owner Seth Clarman of Klarovich’s stable also decided to take a break.
“It’s very hard to get the owner to go to the Derby and they made the right choice,” said jockey Jose Ortiz, who won Preakness for the first time. “Horse, I don’t think he was experienced enough to run around a field with 20 horses and they proved they were right today.”
An early vote, which went 5-1, gave Brown a second victory in Preakness. Cloud Computing, the 2017 champion, also belongs to Klarovich Stiles.
“Cloud computing was once in my life, and now I have twice in my life,” said Clarman, who grew up three blocks from Pimlico Racecourse and celebrated his 65th birthday. “It’s really hard to believe it could have happened.”
Early voting won the race at 1: 54.54 and paid $ 13.40, $ 4.60 and $ 3.60. Epicenter paid $ 2.80 and $ 2.40, while Creative Minister was third and paid $ 4.20.
“Disappointed,” Epicenter coach Steve Asmussen said. “He just had to overcome too much.”
Early voting ended first in a field of nine horses, including the Secret Oath mare and three who returned after a Kentucky derby two weeks ago. Early Voting, son of Gun Runner, won for the third time in four races of his career to take the winner’s share of $ 900,000 in a $ 1.65 million wallet.
“He had a holiday,” assistant coach Baldo Hernandez said this week. “He’s in good shape.”
He was in good enough shape to cope with some adverse weather conditions. The 147th edition of Preakness passed in near-record heat with temperatures soaring to 90 when the horses entered the starting gate.
Clarman said it is unlikely that early voting will take place in the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Steak on June 11 due to questions about whether the foal will survive the distance.
Early voting had no problems with 1 3/16 miles in Preakness.
“It’s just beautiful when a plan is put together,” Brown said.
