McKenna pays $150,000 to supplement Conquest Mo Money to Preakness

Judge Lanier Racing’s Preakness candidate Conquest Mo Money is scheduled to arrive at Pimlico Race Course on Sunday, May 14.

 

Owner Tom McKenna, 81, said the New York-bred colt will be shipped by van from Prairie Meadows racetrack in Altoona, Iowa to Maryland. He said the trip will likely take two days, with an overnight stop at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The son of Uncle Mo is handled by McKenna’s private trainer, Miguel Hernandez. His regular rider, Jorge Carreno will spend the week at Pimlico and be aboard for the Preakness.

 

Although Conquest Money Mo earned enough points to start in the Kentucky Derby, McKenna opted not to run him in a 20-horse field. The colt was not nominated to the Triple Crown series, but McKenna has paid $150,000 to supplement him to the Preakness.

 

Conquest Mo Money - purchased for $8,500 at the Conquest Stables dispersal in November - will be the first Triple Crown series starter for McKenna and his wife Sandy. They are the leading owners in New Mexico.

 

“It’s a dream come true. I never thought I would be here,” McKenna said. “Everybody dreams about it that gets in the horse business, whether you have one horse, two horses or three horses. If you ask anyone what their dream is, they would say, ‘I hope to get to the Kentucky Derby.’ Everybody tells you that. Did I ever think I would get there? I hoped so. Lo and behold, I’m there.”