Preakness Stakes betting may include Lookin at Lucky but the horse will not be ridden by Garrett Gomez. Preakness Stakes odds will include Dublin, who finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby and Gomez will get the mount. The morning line favorite in Preakness Stakes odds is Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
Preakness Stakes betting won’t favor Lookin at Lucky even if he is in the field. The horse was the lukewarm favorite in the Kentucky Derby but he ran into trouble from the rail. It is not the first time the horse has gotten into racing trouble and trainer Bob Baffert had seen enough of Gomez in the irons. Gomez gave the horse a terrible ride in the Santa Anita Derby and although Baffert didn’t blame Gomez for his ride in the Kentucky Derby, it was time for a change.
“I told Ron (Ron Anderson, Gomez’ agent) I didn’t know if I was going to run the horse, but if I did I was going to make a change only because of the bad luck we’ve been having lately,” Baffert said. “Just out of respect, I said, ‘If you can find another mount, find it,’ because I didn’t want him to get shut out of finding a mount.” Gomez will now ride Dublin for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Gomez will be replacing jockey Terry Thompson who rode Dublin in the Derby. “I think he has a very good chance in the Preakness,” Anderson said about Dublin.
It is very likely that Martin Garcia who rode Conveyance for Baffert in the Derby will get the mount aboard Lookin at Lucky if he is entered in Preakness Stakes odds. “Every day he’s looking better and better to me,” Baffert said about Lookin at Lucky. “He was tired the next day (after the Derby), but he’s moving well and that’s the main thing. … The thing is, he just had some bad trips, but the last race, there’s nothing Garrett could have done.
The one hole killed him.” Baffert has not committed to giving the mount to Garcia in Preakness Stakes betting but he is a definite possibility. “Everybody’s assuming that he’d be possible, but I’ve gotten some calls from other riders as well,” Baffert said. “The positive thing about Martin is that he’s worked the horse a lot, he knows the horse really well, but I haven’t decided yet. I’m just going to sit back and talk with the owners.”