BALTIMORE — Schoolyard Dreams is heading to Pimlico for the Preakness one day earlier than expected.
Trainer Derek Ryan initially planned to van the colt down from Monmouth Park on Saturday morning, only hours before the race. That was the schedule Ryan used last year when Musket Man arrived on race day and finished third in the Preakness.
Ryan called an audible Thursday morning, altering the gameplan. Schoolyard Dreams, 15-1 on the Preakness morning line, will now arrive on Friday.
“Change of plans,” Ryan said after jogging the colt a couple miles at Monmouth on Thursday morning.
Schoolyard Dreams is only 2 for 6 in a brief career that includes a notable loss. He finished second in the Tampa Bay Derby, beaten only a nose by Odysseus. The third-place finisher was Super Saver, who went on to win the Kentucky Derby.
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GETTING HIS PREAK ON: Super Saver toured Pimlico for the first time Thursday morning, going for an easy jog over the rain-softened track.
The colt arrived Wednesday afternoon from Churchill Downs, where he completed his serious training for the Preakness.
The jog under an overcast sky was a matter of getting him comfortable and oriented to the new surroundings.
“He shipped in really well,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He had a good rest last night and he’s eating well. He was moving great on the track, seemed happy, energetic and enthusiastic. The track was sloppy and we weren’t looking to do much. I thought he handled everything really well.”
The Derby winner is the 5-2 favorite in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.
While Pletcher has the horse to beat in Super Saver, the trainer has hedged his Preakness bets by also entering Aikenite, a 20-1 long shot.
The colt is only 1 for 8 in his career, with that maiden victory coming at Saratoga last August.
Despite the thin resume, Pletcher feels the horse turned the corner in his last race: a strong closing second in the Derby Trial.
“He seems to be coming up to the race very well,” he said. “We’re hoping for a good effort.”
While Super Saver has post No. 8, Aikenite will break from the rail. That might not be a disadvantage as the colt comes from well off the pace. Jockey Javier Castellano will gather the horse at the start and let him settle into a comfortable spot behind the speed horses.
“We feel his best running style is to take back and make one run,” Pletcher said. “From the rail, we should be able to get back a little bit, get some cover and bide our time.”
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A PREAKNESS THIEF: Nick Zito figures his best chance to pull off a Preakness upset will be to steal it with Jackson Bend.
No, Zito is not planning to heist the famed Woodlawn Vase, the trophy annually presented to the Preakness winner, in the dead of night.
If the robbery takes place, it will be in broad daylight with Jackson Bend and jockey Mike Smith stealing the Preakness on the front end by setting a slow pace and giving the rest of the pack the slip.
In a Kentucky Derby loaded with front runners, Jackson Bend never established strong early position on the sloppy track. He rallied to finish 12th.
In contrast, there aren’t a lot of speed horses in the Preakness. The role of pacesetter could fall to Jackson Bend, 12-1 on the morning line.
“This race is supposed to fit him more,” Zito said. “I’d be over the moon if we inherit the lead. If they take back and not worry about my little horse, I’d be as happy as can be. I’m going to tell Mike to make sure he gets an early position because he needs to be close and we should get it.”
Meanwhile, Derby second-place finisher Ice Box is back in New York, skipping the Preakness while preparing for the Belmont Stakes on June 5.
Zito’s top 3-year-old had a terrible trip in the Derby. He was stopped in his tracks three times before uncorking a big late run to get second behind Super Saver.
“It had to take a little out of him mentally,” he said. “He’s hanging in there. It’s the right thing to do. It was not a hard decision to pass up the Preakness. We’re looking at the whole year with Ice Box and we’re well represented here with Jackson.”
Zito won the 1996 Preakness with Louis Quatorze, a front-running upset at 8-1.
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ALIBIS GALORE: In keeping with a tradition that dates back to the 1930s, Pimlico hosted the Alibi Breakfast on Thursday morning, a festive opportunity for trainers and owners competing in the Preakness to offer excuses and enjoy a light moment before the race is run.
“The Preakness is a race for guys who got beat in the Derby to say ‘What if?’ We get a chance of redeeming ourselves,” said Bob Baffert, the trainer of Lookin At Lucky, the sixth-place finisher in the Derby as the 6-1 favorite.
The breakfast is also the time Pimlico hands out annual awards. For the second straight year, Tom Pedulla of USA Today received the David F. Woods Memorial award for the best Preakness story of the previous year. Scott Serio won the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness photography award. Tom Hammond of NBC Sports and Scott Wykoff of WBAL Radio received Old Hilltop awards honoring years of Preakness coverage. Bobby Lillis of the Maryland Horsemen’s Assistance Fund was appointed the honorary Preakness postmaster.
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TRIPLETS: Three trainers and three jockeys will be making their Preakness debuts.
The first-time trainers are Mike Machowsky with Caracortado, Dale Romans with First Dude and Paddy O’Prado and Wesley Ward with Pleasant Prince. The jockeys are Paul Atkinson on Caracortado, Martin Garcia on Lookin At Lucky and Terry Thompson on Northern Giant.
This marks the first time Machowsky, Ward and Atkinson have participated in any Triple Crown race.
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STILL CLEAR: The forecast for the Preakness remains promising even as the Baltimore area braces for more rain.
Preakness week has been a wet one, and showers are expected to continue through Friday. Things should brighten for the race on Saturday when the temperature could reach 75 degrees under sunny skies.