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PREAKNESS DRAW THEY SAID IT MAY 15, 2013 "Well, he won the Fountain of Youth from the '1' (rail post). His first race was from the '1' and he finished third in a very good race. Obviously, if I was going to pick it out, I wouldn't have picked the '1.' But with only nine horses in there to run a mile and three-sixteenths, with a rider like Joel (Rosario), he's going to figure out what to do. He'll have him in the right spot." —Shug McGaughey on Orb drawing the rail in the Preakness "If it had come out the '1' in the Derby, you'd almost have felt like you needed to go home, but I don't feel that way here. Goldencents with the '2' (post) probably forces our hand a little bit, but we'll just see what some of the others do. Titletown Five (in post 3) is probably going to show some speed coming off a mile race. I think the field will spread itself out to where we'll be able to get a position and do what we want to do." —McGaughey discussing race strategy from the innermost post position "Yes, I did. I saw in the papers it being bounced around at even money or 4-5. I might have been a little bit surprised that he is even- money and the second choice is 5-1. It's a pretty good spread. We'll see what the public does. As I've always said, I wish everything I ran was even-money or the favorite because they've got something on their line that makes them that way. Orb is that way, too." —McGaughey on whether he felt Orb's even-money morning-line odds were justified "I'm looking forward to Saturday afternoon. We've got an even-money shot in the Preakness. What more could I ask for?" —McGaughey "We're ecstatic about it. With this horse, it doesn't matter as much, but it sure is nice being inside, a little bit toward the middle, and then having Orb inside us and Departing inside us, the two big threats. It's great to be outside of them. In the Derby, we actually had the same path, basically, as Orb did, but he was three or four lengths in front of us. This time, maybe we keep a little better eye on him with his being on the inside, and we'll see what happens." —Todd Quast, general manager of Goldmark Farm, co-owner of 5-1 second choice Mylute, on getting post 5 "Everything's fine. There are only nine horses, so the position isn't that important. (Orb) isn't going to go on with it, so he's going to have to go around. Out of the nine numbers, the '1' is probably the one you want the least." —trainer Al Stall Jr., who will send out 6-1 third choice Departing from post 4 "We weren't overly concerned about a post position, because in a nine-horse field, we don't think it's that significant with the speed leaving. We're completely comfortable with No. 2." —trainer Doug O'Neill on the starting spot for Goldencents, the 8-1 fourth choice on the Preakness morning line "My lucky number, 9. I feel good about it. My horse is training excellent. I like being on the outside. I'm going to leave it up to (jockey) John Velazquez. We've got tactical speed, so he can put this horse wherever he wants. You can just draw a line through that last race and forget about it." —trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. after receiving the far outside post with Itsmyluckyday, who will be looking to rebound from a 15th in the Kentucky Derby "Perfect. When it was '1', '7' and '8' left ... Eight is perfect. I couldn't be happier. Really, nobody ever wants to be down inside. You always think, 'It's OK, it's OK,' but it just adds a little more pressure to you because you need the trip. Orb is a good horse. Hopefully, he will overcome it." —Jimmy Barnes, assistant to Bob Baffert, on Govenor Charlie's post position and the possible drawback of starting at the rail "It's of no consequence out there. That's good. I don't think I can make an excuse for any post positions at all. I think I did fine. I'll have to come with a different alibi tomorrow. I don't know that the rail's all that bad or the outside either." —D. Wayne Lukas on Will Take Charge, who will start from post 7 "I was satisfied all the way around with my three horses, especially Oxbow. It's a small field with a good run to the turn. I don't think it's very significant, except maybe for Orb. Oxbow for a change got a decent post position, so that's going to help there. I like what happened there very much." —Lukas on Oxbow getting post 6; the colt drew post 10 in three consecutive stakes starts before breaking from post 1 in the Kentucky Derby "He's got good tactical speed, so I think that's fine. He will be somewhere in the mix early, so that's OK." —Lukas on Titletown Five, the longest shot in the Preakness field at 30-1; the colt will start from post 3
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