Rombauer on Saturday left Medina Spirit behind — and put horse racing’s latest controversy on the back burner.
Little-known Rombauer sprang an 11-1 upset to win the Preakness Stakes, passing Bob Baffert’s Kentucky Derby winner to end a potential Triple Crown bid that would have carried a giant asterisk.
Medina Spirit finished third and will not go on to the Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line and a potential Derby disqualification hanging over the sport.
Photo: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY
“A little disappointed, but we’ll go on from here,” said assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes, who saddled the horses in Baffert’s absence.
Baffert was not present at Pimlico Race Course, opting to stay away because of the controversy surrounding Medina Spirit, who tested positive for the steroid betamethasone in post-Derby testing.
He said in a spotlight-stealing statement hours before the race: “Today is not about Bob Baffert. Instead it is about Medina Spirit and all of the other equine athletes in our tremendous sport.”
All the focus nonetheless was on 2-1 favorite Medina Spirit, Baffert and his other Preakness runner, Concert Tour, who went off at 4-1. Medina Spirit was passed for the first time in his career by Rombauer, who won by three-and-a-half lengths over second-place Midnight Bourbon.
“I had to come out running to get my position,” said Medina Spirit jockey John Velazquez, who fell to 0 for 11 in the Preakness. “I knew that he was going to be pressed today. I was hoping that he wouldn’t overdo it, and we did.”
Concert Tour was a disappointing ninth in a 10-horse field.
“I am at a loss for words,” said Concert Tour jockey Mike Smith, who left Midnight Bourbon after the Derby to ride Baffert’s other Preakness horse. “He just wasn’t going anywhere.”
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