HORSE RACING NEWS & RESULTS

By Chris Palochko
PA SportsTicker Horse Racing Editor

(listed by post position)

1. Mint Slewlep
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Jockey: Alan Garcia
Trainer: Robbie Bailes
Odds: 30-1

Was not entered in the Kentucky Derby; set himself up for the
Preakness by finishing fourth in the Withers; still will be an
extreme long shot to hit the board; has two wins in seven career
starts, although none of the victories have been stakes wins;
this marks the second time in three years that owner Marshall
Dowell and Bailes have taken a run at the Woodlawn Vase. In
2005, they finished second to Afleet Alex with Scrappy T.

2. Xchanger
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Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
Trainer: Mark Shuman
Odds: 15-1

Is making his Triple Crown debut after not running in the
Kentucky Derby; is based at Pimlico so is familiar with the
surroundings; his connections have been targeting the
Preakness; won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico.

3. Circular Quay
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Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Odds: 8-1

One of four horses that has come to Pimlico after running in the
Kentucky Derby; starting from post 16, finished sixth in the
first jewel of the Triple Crown; has four wins and two seconds
in eight career starts; came from far back to capture the
Louisiana Derby on March 10; son of 1995 Kentucky Derby and
Belmont Stakes winner Thunder Gulch, best known as a sire for
producing 2000 BC Juvenile runner-up and eventual
Preakness-Belmont champ Point Given; Pletcher is 0-for-26 in his
career in Triple Crown races.

4. Curlin
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Jockey: Robby Albarado
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Odds: 7-2

Finished a respectable third in his third career start in the
Kentucky Derby, while he placed in the money never threatened
Street Sense and Hard Spun, the top-two finishers in the first
first jewel of the Triple Crown; was tabbed the morning-line
favorite for the Kentucky Derby; won the Arkansas Derby by 10
1/2 lengths on April 14; also won the Rebel Stakes by 5 1/4
lengths and a maiden race by 12 3/4 lengths in Gulfstream Park
in February; Asmussen has saddled two starters in the Preakness
- Snuck (fifth in 2000) and Easyfromthegitgo (fifth in 2002).

5. King of the Roxy
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Jockey: Garrett Gomez
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Odds: 12-1

Due to some questions about distance, his handlers opted to not
run the colt in the Kentucky Derby; the son of Little Expectations
out of a Bold Forbes mare has been prominent on the Triple
Crown trail, winning the Grade II Hutcheson Stakes before bowing
by a mere half-length to Tiago in the Grade I Santa Anita
Derby; is coming off a six-week layoff; should stalk the pace.

6. Flying First Class
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Jockey: Mark Guidry
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
Odds: 20-1

Held out of the Kentucky Derby by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne
Lukas, who has won the Preakness five times in his legendary
career; put himself in position for the Preakness by winning
Churchill Downs' Derby Trial on the track's opening day.

7. Hard Spun
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Jockey: Mario Pino
Trainer: Larry Jones
Odds: 5-2

Set the pace before in the Kentucky Derby before being passed by
Street Sense in the final eighth of a mile en route to a
second-place finish; has five wins in seven career starts; the
colt is based at nearby Delaware Park; Pino also is comfortable
at Pimlico since he is Maryland's all-time winningest jockey.

8. Street Sense
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Jockey: Calvin Borel
Trainer: Carl Nafzger
Odds: 7-5

Became the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to take the
Kentucky Derby, ending a 24-year hex. And he did it in
astonishing fashion, coming from 19th at one point to win by 2
1/4 lengths over Hard Spun; is trying to become the first
Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978; during that stretch,
six horses have won both the Derby and Preakness but were
beaten in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, most recently Smarty
Jones in 2004; has hit the board in all eight career starts with
four wins, two seconds and two thirds.

9. C P West
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Jockey: Edgar Prado
Trainer: Nick Zito
Odds: 20-1

Did not run in the Kentucky Derby; had a sharp prep by finishing
second in the Withers Stakes at Belmont on April 28; also
placed second in the Grade II Futurity last year at Belmont;
Zito won the Preakness in 1996 with Louis Quatorze.