Derby, Preakness, more: The week in social media

Exaggerator at Pimlico prior to the 2016 Preakness. Photo Maryland Jockey Club.

The catalog for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale is now available online, the Kentucky Derby is finally set to take place this Saturday, and it was announced that for the first time in history, the Preakness Stakes will be run without spectators.

Here is the 411 that racing fans in the Mid-Atlantic region have been buzzing about on social media this past week:

Bumper crop for Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling

The online catalog for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale was released to the public, allowing the pedigrees of the sales prospects to be viewed as the sale creeps ever closer.

A strong catalog of 553 yearlings has been entered in the Fall Yearling Sale, which takes place October 5-6, following the October 3 Preakness Stakes. Hips 1-200 will kick off the sale on Monday, beginning at 1 p.m., and Hips 201-553 will conclude the sale on Tuesday, beginning at 10 a.m. A large group of New York-bred yearlings will be offered at this sale as a group that spans from Hip 1 to Hip 154.

The Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale will take place at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, MD. Bidders will have the option to bid in person at the sale, and there will also be online bidding and phone bidding services available for those who cannot make it out to the sale.

Print versions of the catalog will be available beginning September 8th.

Talk Derby to me!

The long-awaited running of the 146th Kentucky Derby is slated to take place this Saturday, September 5 at Churchill Downs.

The “Run for the Roses” was postponed from its original date of May 2 in the hopes that spikes in coronavirus cases would subside and fans could safely gather at the track. However, spectators will not be welcome at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. Still, the show must go on, and post positions for the first ever spectator-less Kentucky Derby were drawn on Tuesday, giving us a better look at what we can expect on Saturday.

After scratches, a field of 16 three-year-old thoroughbreds will join battle beneath the Twin Spires on Saturday, competing at the distance of 1 ¼ miles for the roses and the winner’s share of the $3 million purse. Tiz the Law, who initially drew post 17, was installed as the 3-5 morning line favorite, and stands alone as the only horse who stands a chance to claim the Triple Crown this season, after charging to glory in the Belmont Stakes earlier this summer.

The state of Virginia will also be represented this Saturday in the Kentucky Derby. Virginia-bred Attachment Rate is 50-1 on the morning line and will leave from post 13 on Saturday, Attachment Rate will be the first Virginia-bred in eight years to compete for the roses. Should this copper son of Hard Spun win on Saturday, the Kentucky Derby will stand as the first stakes victory of his career. Also with a Virginia connection is Ny Traffic, who spent much of his pre-racing life in the Old Dominion.

Post time for the Kentucky Derby is just after 7:00 p.m. EDT.

Fan-free Preakness

Disappointing but not surprising news broke this week, when it was announced that the Preakness Stakes will be forced to run without fans due to risks surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Stronach Group, who own Pimlico Race Course, and the Maryland Jockey Club announced September 2 that for the first time in history the Preakness Stakes will not host fans. After the Preakness Stakes was moved from May 16 to October 3 due to complications with the dangers of the coronavirus, the news to withhold fans from the event did not come as a surprise to many. Numerous other tracks have been forced to close their doors to the public in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, and the first two legs of this year’s Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby, both ran without fans.

As a result of the decision to run the Preakness Stakes without spectators, those who have already purchased tickets for the event have the option to either transfer their tickets for seats to the 2021 Preakness, or can receive a full refund.

One positive spin on the unique situation surrounding the 2020 Preakness is the fact that the entire card on race day will consist of stakes races and will also include the 96th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2). Another first for the event comes in the fact that the winner of this year’s Preakness Stakes will receive an automatic berth into the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) this November.

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