Oxbow, a 15-1 longshot, went nearly wire-to-wire to win the 138th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday giving trainer D. Wayne Lukas the all-time lead in Triple Crown race victories with 14.
The bay colt, ridden by 50-year old Gary Stevens and owned by Calumet Farm, took the lead early from Goldencents and won the $1 million Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown by 1 ¾ lengths holding off Itsmyluckyday and Mylute in 1:57.54. Oxbow also ended hopes for a Triple Crown winner for another year.
Orb, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, never got started from his No. 1 post position and finished a disappointing fourth.
"I get paid to spoil dreams," Lukas said after the race. "You can’t mail it in, it’s a different surface, a different time. You gotta line them up and run them."
Orb was trying to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. Orb had a five-race winning streak coming into the Preakness and went off as a 3-5 favorite.
Oxbow finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby and Lukas said the decision hasn’t been made yet whether to take the colt to the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 8, but that the horse didn’t seem to be taxed by his Preakness win.
"You know me, I like to rack them up in the big events," Lukas said. "So I'll probably go."
Oxbow paid $32.80, $12.00 and $6.80. Ismyluckyday, ridden by John Velazquez, was second and paid $7.80 and $5.00. Mylute, with Rosie Napravnik in the irons, was third and paid $5.20.
The race never produced the type of drama that Pimlico's stretch normally provides. After Oxbow took the early lead from Goldencents, Stevens seemed to have him on cruise control on the backstretch at the front of the nine-horse field. Coming out of the far turn it was Oxbow, Itsmyluckyday and Mylute—and that's the way it stayed to the finish line.
"I couldn't believe that no one challenged me going into the far turn, Stevens said. "But when no one did, I said, 'I think everybody's in trouble right now.'''
Stevens said that the horse will often sense a challenge before the jockey, but Oxbow never showed signs of feeling another colt closing.
"A lot of critics are going to think I'm full of it saying this, but I won with a little something left, believe it or not," said Stevens, who became the oldest jockey to win the Preakness.
The day belonged to the 77-year-old Lukas as much as Oxbow and Stevens. The win gave Lukas his 14th Triple Crown triumph, breaking a tie with "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons.
It was Lukas’ sixth Preakness win and it was the third winning ride for Stevens in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Stevens had retired from racing for seven years before coming back earlier this year.
"I’m happier for Gary," Lukas said of his jockey. "I’m happier for Mr. (Brad) Kelley. He’s trying to revitalize Calumet, and Calumet is back in a classic race. It’s very gratifying."
Lukas had three horses in the Preakness. In addition to Oxbow, he had Will Take Charge and Titletown Five.
The attendance at Pimlico was 117,203, fourth largest ever. The handle for the Preakness Stakes was more than $50.25 million, and the handle for the day was $81.94 million, sixth highest ever.