BALTIMORE — Rich Strike, the 80-1 long shot who thrilled the racing world with his late charge to victory in the Kentucky Derby, will skip the Preakness, owner Rick Dawson said.
Rich Strike’s absence will rob the race of its customary tension, with no Triple Crown narrative at stake and no debate over the historic underdog’s chances to do it again. Ratings on NBC plummeted 29% in 2019, when none of the top three Derby finishers ran in the Preakness.
“It’s disappointing,” said NBC racing analyst Randy Moss. “Clearly, we would prefer that Rich Strike run in the Preakness, because he did capture the imagination of the sports public with the way he won and the improbability of it all. Not to mention that the people involved with Rich Strike are so likable and so humble, with a lot of meat on that bone from a storytelling perspective.”
