Tag: Eric Reed

Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard Mo Donegal punctuates their Belmont Stakes victory Saturday at Belmont Park. Mo Donegal's victory gave trainer Todd Pletcher his fourth Belmont Stakes title. (Image: Chelsea Durand/NYRA Photo)

Getting His Mo On, Favorite Mo Donegal Captures 154th Belmont Stakes

- 4 min read

The Belmont Stakes was the race Mike Repole wanted more than any other. It was the race the entrepreneur he called “his Kentucky Derby.” The race the native New Yorker loved so much that he watched the replay numerous times of his best finisher in the race: Stay Thirsty, in […]

We the People skipped his way to a 10 1/4-length victory in the Peter Pan Stakes. He is the 2/1 morning line favorite for Saturday's 154th Belmont Stakes. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

We the People Established as Belmont Stakes’ 2/1 Favorite

- 3 min read

While Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike has taken all of the attention over the past two weeks, We the People took 2/1 morning line favorite status for the Triple Crown’s final jewel. Post positions were drawn and morning line odds established for Saturday’s 154th Belmont Stakes. That 1 1/2-mile “Test […]

Rich Strike enjoys a bath from groom Jerry Dixon Jr. after arriving at Belmont Park Tuesday morning. The Kentucky Derby champion will go through paddock schooling, then informally work out in the afternoon. (Image: Adam Coglianese)

Derby Winner Rich Strike Arrives in New York for Belmont Stakes

- 3 min read

Rich Strike arrived at Belmont Park today, 10 days before the 154th Belmont Stakes. The surprise Kentucky Derby winner took a trot around the dirt training track before heading to the barn for a long nap. The Derby winner, along with exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes and outrider Juan Galvez and […]

Kentucky Derby champion Rich Strike had his first workout since winning the May 7 Run for the Roses the same day as the Preakness Stakes his connections passed. He will have one more Churchill Downs workout before going to New York for the Belmont Stakes. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Derby Winner Rich Strike Returns to the Track — For a Workout

- 2 min read

As he watched his biggest meal ticket work out Saturday, Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed cast a figurative eye East toward Pimlico Race Course. Then, he answered the question of many fans wondering why he wasn’t there, running the second jewel of the Triple Crown — the Preakness Stakes. “Skipping […]

Sonny Leon and Rich Strike won't repeat this iconic image in the Preakness Stakes. The owner of the horse decided to pull the Kentucky Derby winner from the May 21 Preakness and wait for the Belmont. (Image: Skip Dickstein)

No Triple Crown This Year; Rich Strike Out of Preakness

- 2 min read

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike had the plug pulled on a possible Triple Crown run when his connections decided Thursday to bow out of the 147th Preakness Stakes. Instead, they will follow their original playbook and wait for the Belmont Stakes. Rich Strike’s trainer, Eric Reed, said all along the […]

Newly minted Kentucky Derby champion Rich Strike and his barn connections are headed next to Pimlico for the Preakness Stakes in 13 days. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed Hasn’t Woken Up From Derby Dream

- 3 min read

Everything kept going back through Eric Reed’s mind like a never-ending dream, which the trainer of Rich Strike still wasn’t sure about. “I couldn’t sleep last night,” said Reed, still in shock over Rich Strike’s 80/1 shocking victory in the 148th Kentucky Derby. “At 4 this morning, I was wondering […]

Rich Strike (right) passes favorite Epicenter with 50 yards to go to win the 148th Kentucky Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs. At 80.80/1, Rich Strike pulled off the second-biggest upset in Derby history, trailing only Donegal's 91/1 shocker in 1913. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Rich Strike Bowls Over Rivals in Stunning 80/1 Kentucky Derby Upset

- 5 min read

Rich Strike’s trainer, Eric Reed, nearly lost his entire stable in a barn fire. He got Rich Strike – a $30,000 claimer with one career win in seven starts — into the 148th Kentucky Derby with five minutes to spare Friday. When he left Post 21 at Churchill Downs, Rich […]