Lawyer Ron To Skip 2006 Preakness

Lawyer Ron will after all skip the 2006 Preakness Stakes race at Pimlico on May 20 because of a slight ankle injury.

“Looks like we probably aren’t going to come,” trainer Bob Holthus said Tuesday from Churchill Downs, where Lawyer Ron finished a disappointing 12th in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

“We looked at the X-rays and saw some inflammation in the right hind ankle. Unless something good happens before Saturday, it doesn’t look favorable.”

On Thursday Matz officially announced that the colt will not run in Preakness to undergo ankle surgery.

That’s one less opponent undefeated Barbaro has to deal with in the 1 3/16th-mile Preakness, the second leg of racing’s Triple Crown.

Lawyer Ron came into the Derby with a six-race winning streak, including a victory in the Arkansas Derby. A majority interest in the colt was sold for an undisclosed price two days before the Derby.

Meanwhile, Barbaro was back home at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. The Derby winner returned to the center Monday after a 12-hour van ride from Louisville.

On Tuesday, the colt was hand-walked for about 30 minutes and then grazed for another half hour. “He’s doing very good right now,” Matz said. “He shipped very well from Churchill. Our plans are to take him and jog him (Wednesday).”

A small field of about seven or eight 3-year-olds seems to be shaping up for the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown race.

Odds To Win Preakness @ All HorseRacing

The world will be watching to whether Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro will be able to continue his undefeated streak at 6PM EDT on NBC — but they will be making their Preakness Stakes bets online at All Horse Racing.

To celebrate the 131st Preakness Stakes, All Horse Racing is offering a free bet on the Preakness as well as a free bet on the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes.

Preakness Stakes, Pimlico, Triple Crown Horse Racing, 2006 Preakness Stakes