Report: Zandon will not race in Preakness or Belmont

HRN Staff

Zandon, who rallied to finish third Saturday in the Kentucky Derby, will not race in the Preakness or the Belmont Stakes, his owner said to a newspaper on Thursday.

Jeff Drown, who is from St. Cloud, Minn., told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis the 3-year-old colt who won last month’s Blue Grass Stakes (G1) for trainer Chad Brown will instead be focused on the Travers (G1) in August at Saratoga.

Preakness Stakes: Who is in and who is out?

“If he had won the Derby, we’d be talking about the Preakness,” Drown told the Star Tribune. “But we didn’t, so we’ll make another decision.” Drown said Zandon is healthy and “looks fantastic.”

With 80-1 Derby winner Rich Strike being taken out of consideration Thursday, that leaves runner-up Epicenter and fourth-place Simplification as the only two Derby horses who are committed to the Preakness, which will be run next Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore. Zandon’s exit also leaves Flavien Prat looking for a ride in the Preakness.

Sired by Upstart, Zandon has a record of 5: 2-1-2 and earnings of $1,013,000. He won his debut race last fall at Belmont Park before finishing second in the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct, third in the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds and first in the Blue Grass.