Why He Could Win

• Thousand Words (6-1) – Owners Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm/trainer Bob Baffert/jockey Florent Geroux
• Race record: 7: 4-1-0, earnings of $327,000

Pioneerof the Nile cots was marked for stardom from the get-go, drawing a winning bid of $1 million when sold at the 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale…

Flashed plenty of potential early in his career, winning three straight, two in graded company, to kick off career…

Last out win over the hard-hitting Honor A. P. in the Shared Belief was nothing to sneeze at: the runner-up had given Authentic his only career defeat in prior start, returned to be a better-than-it-seemed fourth in the Kentucky Derby after widest journey…

Won twice with blinkers on early in his career and returns to them today after September 26 five-furlong move that had connections smiling again…

Why He Could Lose

Hasn’t run in two months, and the last time he came off a similar break, in the Los Al Derby, he ran just OK…

He’s definitely the “other” Baffert runner in here, after Derby winner Authentic…

Rider Geroux has his fifth Preakness mount, with best result to date a third aboard Owendale last year…

That connections are still tinkering with blinkers on/off heading into a Grade 1 contest suggests they’re still trying to figure this one out, and in fact, Baffert said if he hadn’t been happy with final work, they might’ve passed on the Preakness altogether…

What They’re Saying About Him

“He’s just a steady kind of horse. Distance is his friend,” Baffert said of Thousand Words following the horse’s September 19 work, five furlongs in 1:02 2/5 at Churchill Downs.

He followed that up with a five-furlong move in 1:00 3/5 on September 26, and Baffert was more effusive.

“We were hoping that he would do something like this,” Baffert said from California. “He had to work better than he did last week. Last week, he was just sort of lazy and didn’t get into it, but now he worked really well.”

He added, “This week he was very willing, which is very good. You want to see a horse that is very willing and he was very willing today.”

Video Past Performances