Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Watching the 2022 Preakness Stakes and wondering why Rich Strike, who won the Kentucky Derby a couple of weeks ago, isn’t in the race? We’re here to help.
If you’re here, it probably means you want an answer to that question: Why would a horse that just beat 80-1 odds to win the unlikeliest of Kentucky Derbys not race in the next jewel of the Triple Crown?
It’s a great question. And we have an answer, so let’s dive in as we get set at Pimlico: