After his controversial win of the Kentucky Derby, news has broke that Derby winner, ‘Country House,’ will not run in the Preakness Stakes.
Trainer, Bill Mott, said the horse has shown signs of illness ever since his finish at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Apparently, the horse has developed a cough and has a hindered appetite, per Mott.
“It’s probably a little viral thing,” Mott said. “Hopefully it doesn’t develop into anything serious. Usually, when something like this happens a horse misses a couple weeks of training. He’s not seriously sick right now. But he’s showing indications that something is going on.”
‘Country House’ is the first Kentucky Derby winner to miss the Preakness in 23 years, when ‘Grindstone’ missed it in 1996.
With both Maximum Security and Country House out of the race, the Preakness is wide open.