Oxbow wins, Orb 4th at Preakness

[truebluefan]

A pair of not-so over-the-hill Hall of Famers pulled off a huge upset in the Preakness and ended any hopes of a Triple Crown attempt at the Belmont Stakes.

Thanks to Oxbow's wire-to-wire win Saturday over Kentucky Derby winner Orb, trainer D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Gary Stevens have themselves another classic to add to their stellar resumes.

"I get paid to spoil dreams," the 77-year-old Lukas said after his record 14th win in a Triple Crown race. "Unfortunately we go over here and you can't mail 'em in. It's a different surface and a different time. You gotta line 'em up and win 'em."

Stevens ended his retirement in January, and won his third Preakness to go along with three victories in the Derby and three in the Belmont.

"At 50 years old, after seven years retirement, it doesn't get any better than this," Stevens said. "This is super, super sweet, and it happened for the right guy. All the stars were aligned. It's even more special winning it for Wayne Lukas and his team."

Lukas put Stevens on his first Triple Crown race winner when the rider guided the filly Winning Colors to victory in the 1988 Derby.

"He supported me," Stevens said. "A lot of people were trying to get me off. He was the first guy to call me up and said, 'I'm going to have a colt for you. His name is Oxbow.' "

Orb was unable to find his rhythm after breaking slowly from the rail, and never challenged in finishing fourth.

"After we passed the half mile, he had a hard time keeping up and I kind of worried a little bit," Orb's jockey Joel Rosario said. "He just kind of steadied after that. He usually takes you there. He always runs hard, but today he never took off."

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