Reports: Lord Miles is 'highly unlikely' to run in Preakness

The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained 3-year-old Lord Miles, scratched from the Kentucky Derby after the unexplained deaths of two stablemates at Churchill Downs, is "highly unlikely" to run in Preakness 2023, according to reports posted Friday.

Thoroughbred Daily News and Daily Racing Form both quoted Joseph as all but ruling out a run in the Preakness for the son of Curlin following a workout Friday morning at Palm Meadows.

“The Preakness was never really a target for us anyway,” Joseph told DRF after the colt worked four furlongs in 49.5 seconds, the eighth fastest of 15 works at the distance.  “Especially after he had to travel all the way back from Kentucky. That’s why I didn’t want him to do too much this morning. Right now I’m thinking we’ll get two or three more works in him here, then come up with a plan. The Belmont is probable, although everything is on the table at the moment.”

“He had a good work but the Preakness was never really a priority,” Joseph was quoted as saying. “That's where we're at with him. The Belmont comes into play because it would give us more time. We will work him twice more before making any decisions, but I might want to look at other races.”

Lord Miles, who won the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct on April 8 to earn a spot in the Derby starting gate, was scratched by Kentucky horse-racing authorities, who also barred all other Joseph-trained horses from entering races at Churchill Downs. The ruling cam after stablemates Parents Pride and Chasing Artie died suddenly days apart after races during the opening week of the current Churchill Downs meet, which also saw five other equine fatalities through Derby day.. 

Shortly thereafter Churchill Downs indefinitely suspended Joseph from entering horses at the track, prompting the trainer to ship his string in Louisville back to Florida. 

Vegso, the original publisher of the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, and Joseph told both TDN and DRF that they do not anticipate that entering Lord Miles would be an issue with racing authorities in Maryland or New York.

“I don't think there will be a problem,” TDN quoted Vegso as saying. “The horse had nothing to do with any of this. I know they are waiting for the results of the necropsies of the horses that passed away for Saffie. There are those two and five others that passed away. But none of that has anything to do with Lord Miles.”

Vegso also criticized the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for its decision to remove Lord Miles from the Derby lineup, saying it was unfair to both him and Joseph.

“They made decisions without having all the information," Vegso told TDN. "They took blood tests from the horses and found nothing. They still have the necropsies, but from what I understand that takes a few weeks. So they made decisions without having all the information. That's a lack of ethics. They were just trying to cover their butts.”

TDN reached out to the Maryland Racing Commission and 1/ST Racing, owner of Pimlico, for comment on Lord Miles possible entry into the Preakness but did not receive a response from the former. 1/ST Racing CEO Aidan Butler told the publication that it would issue a statement on Joseph on Friday. 

Horse Racing Nation emailed 1/ST Racing on Friday seeking a copy of the statement but did not immediately receive a response.