Trainer Chip Woolley has no intention of looking longingly toward the Baltimore sky Saturday afternoon and hoping for a similar storm that some believe helped his horse cruise to victory at the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago.
Woolley said Mine That Bird needs no assistance to win Saturday's 134th Preakness Stakes, and he dismisses the notion that his horse benefits from sloppy conditions.
"I'm not going to pray for rain," Woolley said. "Really, I don't know if it affected mine positively [in the Derby]. It may have been detrimental to some of the horses in the race, or at least that's what they're saying. But we'll line up and see what happens."
Sporadic downpours early Friday morning kept the Pimlico Race Course track wet but far from hazardous. As much as half an inch of rain fell in parts of the area, and Saturday's forecast calls for temperatures in the high 70s with afternoon thunderstorms and a 70 percent chance of rain.
If the track is slightly wet for the 6:15 p.m. post time, conditions would be ideal, according to trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert will run Pioneerof the Nile, a 5-to-1 favorite.
"The track right now is beautiful, perfect," Baffert said. "It's better with moisture in it, not too much, but just enough. [Friday] morning would have been a great day to run horses. The track maintenance crew - usually they do a great job here of keeping it tight, sealed and firm as possible. The firmer, the better. But it's one of those things you can't really worry about. Anything that's out of my control, I don't worry about."
Baffert said a steady rain before post should not turn the track into the muddy mess that was the Churchill Downs track. Several trainers said the dirt at Pimlico holds water better, and that they expect the race will be fairly clean.
Papa Clem trainer Gary Stute said that even if water accumulates, his horse handles poor weather conditions fine. Stute said he doubts Mine That Bird will benefit this time around if the track is not in perfect shape.
"Mud can be different. Friesan Fire [won] easy in the muddy track in Louisiana and then at Churchill he didn't like it at all. Just because they handle one doesn't mean they'll handle the next," Stute said.
Hank Goldberg, radio talk show host and ESPN analyst, said of all the horses, Friesan Fire might benefit best from a wet track because of how he ran in New Orleans this year.
Friesan Fire struggled in the slop at Churchill Downs, finishing 18th in the 19-horse field, while Mine That Bird kicked up mud hugging the rail and surged from last place to what turned into an easy victory.
"That track in Churchill was so ... one jockey came back and said it was like molasses out there, extremely tiring and heavy. It wasn't just sloppy," Goldberg said. "I just don't think the Derby horse will benefit that much from it because I think that in this race, you're going to have to be closer to the pace."
