(Edited Pimlico press release)
Pimlico officials reported May 9 there was a possiblility that the 14-horse field for the May 15 Preakness (gr. I) would be oversubscribed because the connections of 15 3-year-olds are considering entering their runners in the second leg of the Triple Crown. If all 15 are entered May 12, First Dude would be the horse excluded from the field.
The starters will be determined in a three-tier process. The first seven horses with the highest lifetime earnings in graded stakes will be given preference. The next four starters will be determined by the highest lifetime earnings in all “non-restricted stakes,” which means those stakes whose conditions contain no restrictions other than age or sex. The remaining three starters will be determined by the highest lifetime earnings in all races.
Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Super Saver ($1,789,032), Lookin At Lucky ($1,480,000), Mission Impazible ($485,934), Paddy O'Prado ($450,950), Dublin ($373,208) Aikenite ($267,806), and Jackson Bend ($230,000) qualify in the graded earnings category. Only A Little Warm and Hurricane Ike have earnings in the non-restricted category, so the final five starters would come from the lifetime earnings tier: Caracortado ($262,200), Pleasant Prince ($224,398), Yawanna Twist ($195,600), Schoolyard Dreams ($179,060), and Northern Giant ($169,808) would earn starts in the Preakness, leaving First Dude ($152,160) on the outside.