From all the indignant commentary, not to mention YouTube hits, this
past week, you would think the biggest change in this year’s Preakness
Stakes is that Pimlico officials have created a half-human, half-horse
mascot named Kegasus to be the race’s official infield mascot. While
Kegasus has generated a lot of attention, something every bit as weird
as a beer-swilling centaur could have a much larger effect on this
year’s Preakness and Triple Crown chase: the “Preakness 5.5” bonus
scheme, which will start generating a lot more talk if Dialed In or
Soldat wins Sunday’s Florida Derby or Anthony’s Cross, Premier Pegasus,
or Silver Medallion wins next Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby.
A victory by any of those five colts this week will put them
two-thirds of the way toward winning a $5.5 million bonus in the
Preakness under a complicated scheme announced last August by MI
Developments, which owns Pimlico and the three tracks – Golden Gate,
Gulfstream and Santa Anita - at which the bonus-qualifying races are
held.
When MID announced the Preakness 5.5 last August, it attracted
cursory attention, perhaps because it was released the Friday before the
Travers and Pacific Classic, perhaps because the set-up was so
convoluted. There are five paths to becoming eligible for the bonus,
three in California and two in Florida: First you have to win either the
El Camino Real Derby (Silver Medallion), R.B. Lewis (Anthony’s Cross),
or San Felipe (Premier Pegasus) and then the Santa Anita Derby; or you
have to win the Holy Bull (Dialed In) or Fountain of Youth (Soldat) and
then the Florida Derby.
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