Triple Crown tracker: Forever Young leads 9 in recent action
The Triple Crown Tracker checks in with the horses who raced in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, keeping up with what they have done since the classics.
2024 Kentucky Derby
Forever Young made his first start since the Kentucky Derby in the Japan Dirt Classic at Oi on Wednesday. Sent off an odds-on favorite despite the long layoff, Forever Young stumbled out of the gate but nonetheless settled to track just behind the leader. He rallied outside of pacesetter Kashima Espada in upper stretch, drove clear and held off a stout run from Mikki Fight to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
Forever Young is the only one from the Kentucky Derby field to have raced in the last two weeks. Society Man was entered in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) but worked Sept. 28 and was scratched from the Sept. 29 race. Encino, the Lexington (G3) winner who had not worked since April 27 and was scratched from the Kentucky Derby, returned to the work tab Oct. 1 at Keeneland.
| Derby | Horse | Last race | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mystik Dan | 8th Belmont | Training under tack |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 3rd Travers (G1) | Worked 4f Sat. at BEL |
| 3 | Forever Young | 1st Japan Dirt Classic | No works since last race |
| 4 | Catching Freedom | 4th Ohio Derby (G3) | No works since last race |
| 5 | T O Password | 5th Kentucky Derby | Out for the rest of the year |
| 6 | Resilience | 10th Belmont | No works since last race |
| 7 | Stronghold | 2nd Pennyslvania Derby (G1) | No works since last race |
| 8 | Honor Marie | 8th Travers (G1) | No works since last race |
| 9 | Endlessly | 5th Belmont Derby (G1) | Worked 5f Aug. 10 at DMR |
| 10 | Dornoch | 4th Travers (G1) | Retired to stud at Spendthrift |
| 11 | Track Phantom | 11th Kentucky Derby | Worked 5f Mon. at CD |
| 12 | West Saratoga | 5th Matt Winn (G3) | Worked 5f Oct. 1 at KEE |
| 13 | Domestic Product | 1st H. Allen Jerkens (G1) | Worked 4f Sat. at SAR |
| 14 | Epic Ride | 14th Kentucky Derby | Worked 5f Fri. at KEE |
| 15 | Fierceness | 1st Travers (G1) | Worked 5f Thu. at SAR |
| 16 | Society Man | 3rd West Virginia Derby (G3) | Worked 4f Sept. 28 at SAR |
| 17 | Just Steel | 5th Preakness | Recovering from leg surgery |
| 18 | Grand Mo the First | 2nd Virginia Derby (G3) | Worked 4f Sun. at GP |
| 19 | Catalytic | 2nd Carry Back | Worked 3f Aug. 17 at SAR |
| 20 | Just a Touch | 2nd Iowa Derby | No works since last race |
| SCR | Encino | 1st Lexington (G3) | Worked 3f Oct. 1 at KEE |
| SCR | Mugatu | 4th Bourbon Flight | Entered Sat. in Maryland Million Classic |
2024 Preakness Stakes
A pair of runners from the Preakness Stakes raced in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) on Sept. 21. Preakness winner Seize the Grey continued to burnish his record. He set a pressured pace, turned back a bid from Stronghold and drew off by 3 3/4 lengths over that foe. Uncle Heavy also contested the Pennsylvania Derby, settling near the rear and chasing on for fourth, 5 3/4 lengths behind Seize the Grey.
Mugatu, who last finished fourth behind Batten Down in the Bourbon Flight at Churchill Downs on Oct. 21, returns to the races Saturday in the Maryland Million Classic. One of three sophomores facing older in that 1 1/8-mile race at Laurel, he drew post 9 in the field of 11, plus two also-eligible entrants.
Tuscan Gold, off the work tab since June 1, has returned to serious training. The Chad Brown trainee drilled Sunday, going three furlongs at Saratoga.
| Preakness | Horse | Last race | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seize the Grey | 1st Pennsylvania Derby (G1) | Worked 5f Thu. at CD |
| 2 | Mystik Dan | 8th Belmont | Training under tack |
| 3 | Catching Freedom | 4th Ohio Derby (G3) | No works since last race |
| 4 | Tuscan Gold | 4th Preakness | Worked 3f Sun. at SAR |
| 5 | Just Steel | 5th Preakness | Recovering from leg surgery |
| 6 | Uncle Heavy | 4th Pennsylvania Derby (G1) | No works since last race |
| 7 | Imagination | 3rd Shared Belief | Worked 4f Sun at SA |
| 8 | Mugatu | 4th Bourbon Flight | Entered Sat. in Maryland Million Classic |
2024 Belmont Stakes
Belmont winner Dornoch, coming out of a fourth-place finish in the Travers (G1), has been retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm. He had been pointing to a final start in the Breeders' Cup Classic, but veterinarians discovered bone bruising. He would have needed too much time off to make it to the Breeders' Cup, so his connections retired him one start early.
Protective raced in the Pennsylvania Derby. That return to Grade 1 company came a month after he broke his maiden at Saratoga. Protective settled near the rear of the field, never made a rally and finished 10th in the 11-horse field.
| Belmont | Horse | Last race | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dornoch | 4th Travers (G1) | Retired to stud at Spendthrift |
| 2 | Mindframe | 2nd Haskell (G1) | No works since last race |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 3rd Travers (G1) | Worked 4f Sat. at BEL |
| 4 | Honor Marie | 8th Travers (G1) | No works since last race |
| 5 | Antiquarian | 5th Belmont | No works since last race |
| 6 | Protective | 10th Pennsylvania Derby (G1) | No works since last race |
| 7 | Seize the Grey | 1st Pennsylvania Derby (G1) | Worked 5f Thu. at CD |
| 8 | Mystik Dan | 8th Belmont | Training under tack |
| 9 | The Wine Steward | 9th Belmont | No works since last race |
| 10 | Resilience | 10th Belmont | No works since last race |