"Mine That Bird" Moving from Kentucky to Baltimore to Race

"Mine That Bird," a 50:1 longshot at the Kentucky Derby last weekend, won the race by an unprecedented margin and, in the wake of that feel good story, will travel to Baltimore, Maryland for the Preakness Stakes. Mine That Bird was proclaimed fit for the Preakness yesterday after being worked out early on Monday morning. The horse’s trainer, Bennie Woolley Jr., noted, "The horse will be the judge, but as good as he looked this morning, we plan on being at the Preakness."

Woolley, an unlikely hero at the Derby, has noted that he’s totaled about 5 hours of sleep the past two nights, as interview requests and the demands of keeping his horse ready for the next race have been quite demanding. The trainer also said that the horse would remain at Churchill Downs in Louisville until May 12, at least, before traveling to Baltimore. Said Woolley, "I’ve never been to Baltimore, but it looks like I won’t be able to say that in a few days."

Though Woolley has continuously noted that he feels no obligation to have Mine That Bird run the Preakness and that "You’ve got to do what’s best for the horse and the horse has got to come first," he did acknowledge that taking at the Triple Crown – winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in the same year – would be good for horse racing in general. Said Woolley, "The horse came back and he’s bouncing – fells good, doing good. This Triple Crown thing is good for racing. If you don’t have the Kentucky Derby winner, there’s no Triple Crown."