The Latest Breaking News from Rick Dawson

BALTIMORE — When Rick Dawson decided his Kentucky Derby winner, Rich Strike, would skip the Preakness, he reignited a decades-old debate about the spacing of the Triple Crown series, which many horsemen and racing analysts see as out of step with modern practices.

Rick Dawson, owner of Rich Strike and RED TR-Racing, said the horse will skip the next stop of the Triple Crown and get some rest before the third race in the series, the Belmont Stakes, in New York.

Rick Dawson, Rich Strike’s owner, released a statement Thursday saying they will instead look towards the June 11 Belmont Stakes in order to get more rest and recovery time.

Rich Strike's quest for the Triple Crown is over

The 80-1 Derby winner will not go for the Triple Crown, as trainer Eric Reed and owner Rick Dawson stood up to the entire racing industry and put their horse first.

This doesn’t happen

Big-name jockeys and owners and exiled trainers were outdone and outshone by a group of racing no-names who brought a storybook finish Saturday at Churchill Downs.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Before 80-1 long shot Rich Strike broke last from the gate in the 148th Kentucky Derby, his rider, Venezuela native Sonny Leon, had such a light footprint in North American horse racing, he had never won a graded stakes race.

A threatened cockatoo species is in decline, but a breeding ground north of Perth has had its best year on record, with an artificial breeding tube being credited for the success.