
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has won the Preakness Stakes six times, including last year when his Seize the Grey went gate-to-wire in winning the second leg of the Triple Crown. On Saturday, the 89-year-old trainer will go for Preakness victory No. 7 with American Promise, who faded to 16th two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby.
3 American Promise (15-1)
- Trainer D. Wayne Lukas
- Jockey Nik Juarez
- Last race 16th in the Kentucky Derby by 38½ lengths
- Career record 10 starts: 2 wins, 1 second, 1 third
- Career earnings $444,874
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure 95 (twice)
- Sire Justify
Below, we’ll dig further into American Promise as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 150th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 17. We’ll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered Saturday and analyze how the post draw affects his chances.
Preakness Stakes profiles 1 Goal Oriented | 2 Journalism | 3 American Promise | 4 Heart of Honor | 5 Pay Billy | 6 River Thames | 7 Sandman | 8 Clever Again | 9 Gosger
Preakness Stakes picks Michelle Yu | Gene Menez | Jody Demling
Now that you know who’s in the field, you’ll want to know how to bet the Preakness Stakes on the top horse racing betting apps.
What to know about American Promise
American Promise entered the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby as a wiseguy horse. Originally 30-1 on the morning line, he was bet down to 12.5-1 at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET; only four horses in the 19-horse field were shorter.
That did not work out well for American Promise bettors. After securing a nice stalking spot along the rail just behind pacesetter Citizen Bull, American Promise attempted to split horses around the far turn but didn’t have the horsepower to do so. He ended up retreating down the stretch and finishing 16th, more than 38 lengths behind winner Sovereignty.
Perhaps American Promise didn’t like the sloppy surface that day, or maybe he was too close to a reasonably fast pace. But Lukas blames the poor effort on the horse being slammed immediately after the start by Citizen Bull coming over from the rail, so the trainer is giving American Promise a chance for redemption in the Preakness Stakes.
The $750,000 son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify will need to return to his Virginia Derby form to be a contender. In that race on March 15, he set the track record for nine furlongs, won by almost eight lengths and earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, which is about average for this Preakness field. Other speed figure makers rated the race even faster.
After that race, Lukas said the horse trained more impressively than any horse he had ever brought to run for the roses. American Promise had the looks of a horse who was getting better at the right time prior to his Louisville failure. The chance for redemption comes Saturday.
Post draw analysis
American Promise didn’t have the speed to get to the front in the Kentucky Derby, and he’s unlikely to outrun Clever Again and Goal Oriented early at Pimlico. The No. 3 post position should allow him to sit in the pocket right behind the early pacesetters and hug the rail, much like he did in the Kentucky Derby, assuming that’s what Lukas and jockey Nik Juarez want to do. The question will be how much horsepower will be left under the hood once the serious running begins.
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