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BALTIMORE, Md.—RED TR-Racing LLC’s Rich Strike returned to the racetrack Tuesday morning for the first time since pulling off an 80-1 upset in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs.
The 3-year-old son of Keen Ice jogged a half-mile before galloping a mile at Mercury Equine Center near Lexington, KY in preparation for a highly anticipated start in the 147th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 21 at Pimlico Race Course. Trainer Eric Reed reported that Rich Strike “traveled great.”
Rich Strike, who rallied from 15th at the top of the stretch to prevail over favored Epicenter by three-quarters of a length, is scheduled to return to Churchill Downs later this week with the possibility of an easy breeze on Monday or Tuesday before shipping to Pimlico.
The colt was originally scheduled to enter in the $100,000 Sir Barton for 3-year-old non-winners of a sweepstakes on the Preakness undercard according to the Pimlico racing office. However, Rich Strike is most definitely now a sweepstakes winner therefore ineligible for the Sir Barton.
Rich Strike’s Works (Tuesday’s is not listed on Equibase)
| Track | Date | Course | Distance | Time | Note | Rank |
| Churchill Downs | 4/27/2022 | Dirt | 5F | 59.60 | Breezing | 3/9 |
| Keeneland | 4/16/2022 | Dirt | 4F | 48.00 | Breezing | 10/106 |
| Turfway Park | 3/26/2022 | All Weather Track | 5F | 59.40 | Breezing | 1/31 |
Derby Champion a ‘Gamble That Worked Out’
Rich Strike’s only victory prior to his Kentucky Derby upset also came at Churchill Downs in his second career start Sept. 17, 2021, when he was claimed for $30,000 by Rick Dawson’s RED TR-Racing LLC after graduating by 17 ¼ lengths
“Rick was trying to upgrade his stable and get some younger horses. We thought with the big purses and the well-bred horses we have around here at Churchill in the summer it might be a great chance to jump in and grab something that has a future. Just taking a shot,” trainer Eric Reed said. “The horse was working super good on the dirt and his first race was on the turf when he didn’t run well. We just took a gamble that it was the turf that was the reason he ran poorly and not anything else, and the gamble worked out.”
The Kentucky Derby Museum has confirmed that Rich Strike is the only Derby winner who had actually been claimed out of a claiming race. Other horses had run in claiming races prior to their Derby victories but were not claimed, such as 2009 victor Mine That Bird and 1999 winner Charismatic, who had raced for claiming prices of $62,500.
Adam Beschizza was the jockey aboard Rich Strike for his graduation.
“He didn’t jump off on the lead and keep extending his lead,” Beschizza said during training hours at Churchill Downs Tuesday. “He was still very raw then. He broke a little bit slow – took him maybe a sixteenth-mile to get into the race. Then once he was a furlong, two furlongs into the race, he took it up pretty easy and kept on extending his lead.
“For sure, I definitely wasn’t thinking, ‘This horse could win the Kentucky Derby.’ No. But he’s definitely a horse that the farther he goes, the better,” Beschizza added. “That’s what we’re all looking for now, isn’t it? You’re looking for a dirt horse that can take kickback, that can stay a mile and half.”
Rich Strike earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 65 that day – 36 points below the 101 figure he was awarded for his Derby score over the same track.
“I guess he does like this track. He seems to get over the surface better than the others,” Beschizza said. “But I’m sure the distance definitely moved him up. Obviously coming back to Churchill moved him up again.”
Eric Reed’s Family Has Preakness Connections
Two weeks after Rich Strike’s shocking 80-1 upset victory in last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (G1), his trainer is scheduled to saddle his first starter at historic Pimlico Race Course during his 37-year career.
Eric Reed, who lived every trainer’s dream when Rich Strike won the Run for the Roses following a 15th-to-first stretch surge, will be on unfamiliar ground when he saddles Richard Dawson’s colt for a start in the 147th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 21. However, the 58-year-old trainer does have a family connection to Pimlico and the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
Although W. E. ‘Smiley’ Adams saddled Master Derby for a victory in the 1975 Preakness, it was Reed’s father, Herbert, who was involved in the early training and development of the son of Dust Commander.
“My dad was orphaned, and he was raised by Mack Miller, the Hall of Fame trainer. My dad, when he got married, had me at 16. He was an exercise rider and became a trainer. He was a very good horseman. He was working for Golden Chance Farm – Mrs. (Verna) Lehmann. He developed all kinds of big horses. He would not travel to the races. She would beg him every year, ‘Take them to Florida. You’ve done all the work,’” Reed said Monday morning from his Mercury Equine Center near Lexington, KY.
“My dad would not leave the family behind,” he added. “He turned down the opportunity most trainers live for – fame, fortune, etcetera – to take care of his family. This Derby that happened to me, having my dad there, was better than winning the race, in all honesty.”
Meanwhile, Rich Strike has returned to Mercury Equine Center for a few days of R & R before resuming training for the Preakness
“He’s just had a couple days off, walking, grazing, getting bathed, just getting over the race, getting his mind right. He’s seemed to come out of the race really good. We’ll have him on the track in the morning,” Reed said. “If things go well this week in the next couple days, I’ll go back to Churchill, gallop him a few days and maybe give him a little workout Monday or Tuesday to stretch his legs. Then, if all goes well, we’ll head to Pimlico.”
ICYMI
Trainer Bonus Returns for Preakness Weekend
For a sixth straight year, the Maryland Jockey Club is offering bonus money totaling $100,000 to trainers who run a minimum of five horses in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes races during Preakness weekend, May 20 and 21, at historic Pimlico Race Course.
Points are accumulated for finishing first (10 points), second (seven), third (five), fourth (three) and having a starter (one) in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes, led by the 147th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, May 21.
Sunrise at Old Hilltop Tours
Sunrise at Old Hilltop, one of the most popular events leading up to the Preakness Stakes (G1), will be making its return to historic Pimlico Race Course this year.
Admission is free to the Sunrise at Old Hilltop Tours, which run on a first-come, first-served basis between 6 and 9 a.m. from Tuesday, May 17 through Friday, May 20. Patrons can sign up at the registration tent on the track apron.
In addition to watching the sun come up over the second-oldest Thoroughbred racetrack in the country, opened in 1870, the tours offer a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at one of the world’s biggest sporting events. Fans will watch horses work out on the track before getting a chance to see them up close, meet and greet horsemen and learn some of the history behind the Preakness. Click to make your reservations.
Preakness Live!
1/ST EXPERIENCE, curators of world-class entertainment and hometown hospitality for Preakness 147, announces a collaboration with Baltimore’s own Kevin Liles, CEO and Chairman of 300 Entertainment and Elektra Music Group, to launch Preakness LIVE Culinary, Art & Music Festival as part of an expanded Preakness entertainment and cultural celebration set to take place on Black-Eyed Susan Day, Friday, May 20. The festival is just one part of 1/ST’s new long-term campaign, Baltimore 1/ST, kicking off this year. Click for tickets.
Maryland Jockey Club Press Release/Edited
Photo of Rich Strike winning the Kentucky Derby by Coady Photography
