UPDATED: Oaks winner Secret Oath is a go for Preakness

Louisville, Ky.

More of the Preakness 2022 puzzle fell into place Wednesday when trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath would run against the boys May 21 at Pimlico.

Lukas also ruled Ethereal Road out of Preakness consideration, saying that the maiden winner who was a late scratch from the Derby will be pointed instead to the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton Stakes on the same card.

Secret Oath galloped over the Churchill Downs main track on a warm morning and got a passing grade from Lukas. A final decision about going to Baltimore will come after a conversation with owners Rob and Stacy Mitchell at Briland Farm in nearby Lexington.

Lukas said he would like to strike now while Secret Oath is carrying Oaks momentum that her male counterparts might not enjoy coming out of the Kentucky Derby.

“The Derby horses pretty much all had a hard race,” Lukas said while sitting on his pony Boomer outside his Churchill Downs barn. “Her race was not hard on her.”

The Preakness would be Secret Oath’s second race against males. She finished third last month in the Arkansas Derby (G1). The Arrogate filly has won four races in a row competing in her division.

In judging the Preakness, Lukas echoed the prevailing opinion that Derby runner-up Epicenter will be the favorite.

“What I always do is I list all the horses that are going,” Lukas said, “and I say, can I beat this one? Yes. Can I beat that one? Yes. Can I beat that one? Maybe. I go right down the line. But I still don’t know who’s going.”

Epicenter became a likely starter when Winchell Thoroughbreds racing manager David Fiske confirmed it Wednesday morning. This followed receipt of a video that trainer Steve Asmussen sent after the colt galloped over the main track at about 6 a.m. EDT.

“He traveled really good on the racetrack this morning,” Asmussen said while watching activity on the Churchill Downs back side. “I thought that he took the Derby really well.”

One offshore betting site already booking the Preakness has made Epicenter its 5-2 favorite followed by Early Voting and Zandon at 4-1 and then Secret Oath, Derby winner Rich Strike, Simplification and supplemented allowance winner Creative Minister at 5-1.

That same site has Morello listed at 7-1, but Asmussen said he would not go to the Preakness. Instead, the Gotham Stakes (G3) winner who finished sixth in the Wood Memorial (G2) will get back on the track for a breeze next week. Morello’s next race has yet to be determined.