Earned Automatic Berth in Middle Jewel of Triple Crown May 17

BALTIMORE – RKTN Racing’s 3-year-old colt Pay Billy, riding a two-stakes win streak, is being pointed to make his graded debut in the 150th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.

Pay Billy earned an automatic berth in the $2 million Preakness for his victory in Laurel Park’s Federico Tesio April 19. This marked the 10th consecutive year the Tesio offered the incentive to the connections of Triple Crown-nominated horses.

“We’re planning on it. As of right now, it’s a go for us,” trainer Mike Gorham said Friday. “The Tesio was a win-and-you’re-in, so we get the fees paid and all that. At least we’ve got a shot.”

The Preakness, at 1 3/16 miles, will be the longest race to date for Pay Billy, whose last two starts have both come around two turns – the 1 1/8 Tesio and the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms March 22 – for wins by five combined lengths. He came up a nose short of sweeping Laurel’s Preakness preps when second in the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 22.

“He turned a corner when he turned 3. He wasn’t that focused as a baby, and it took a couple races for him to even figure out what he was doing,” Gorham said. “We always thought he had a lot of talent and wanted to go further, and that’s the way it turned out.”

Pay Billy did his winter training at Laurel but recently moved with Gorham’s string to Delaware Park, where the son of champion Improbable – sixth in the 2019 Preakness – will have his next work before heading to Pimlico.

“We might do something easy tomorrow, like an easy half, and then do something more serious the end of next week or next weekend,” Gorham said. “We have to ship in to Pimlico early, so we’ll probably have him down there all of Preakness week.”

It will be the first Preakness starter for Gorham and the owners, a small group of investors led by Minneapolis-based lawyer and managing partner Nate Nelson.

“This is their first horse, so they’re getting a good introduction,” Gorham said. “It’s like a home game for us. It’s great. It’s definitely a big move. Everybody wants to be in a Triple Crown race, that’s for sure. If we can get lucky and get a good piece of it, that’d be great.”

Named for the noted Italian breeder, owner and trainer whose homebreds Nearco and Ribot dominate Thoroughbred bloodlines around the world, the Tesio has produced a total of 23 winners that have gone on to run in the Preakness, the most recent being Perform in 2023. Maryland-bred Deputed Testamony, in 1983, is the lone horse to sweep both races.

Along with Pay Billy and the winner of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (G1), the Preakness is expected to draw such horses as Gosger and Bracket Buster, respectively 1-2 in the April 12 Lexington (G3) at Keeneland; Wood Memorial (G2) winner Rodriguez, scratched Thursday from the Derby with a foot issue; stakes winner Built, entered in the Pat Day Mile (G2) on the Derby undercard; Clever Again, winner of Oaklawn Park’s Hot Springs March 30; and British-bred Heart of Honor, runner-up in the April 5 UAE Derby (G2) trained by Jamie Osborne.