Espinoza to Ride A P Valentine in Preakness
Trainer Nick Zito announced Tuesday afternoon that jockey Victor Espinoza will ride Ol Memorial Stable and Michael Tabor's A P Valentine in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. "We discussed a number of riders," said Zito. "There are several reasons we chose Victor. I want to hitch up to his wagon. He's won the last three riding titles (meets) in California. He's hungry. He rode Congaree perfectly in the Derby. If you want to get an idea of how good he is, just watch his ride on Spain in the Breeders' Cup. "He wants to ride this horse. I think he (A P Valentine) still has a future even if a few jockey agents don't think so. I've talked to Coolmore and they are fine with it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get in touch with Coach (Rick Pitino). He must be busy recruiting or something. "I'm the assistant coach. He's always backed me up in situations like this, but he will have the final word. Victor has the credentials. The horse is doing great. I wanted a jockey who wants me. He cancelled nine mounts at Hollywood Park Saturday to ride my horse."

Zito continues to keep faith in the potential of A P Valentine and the colt's five-furlong (1:00 3/5) workout Monday simply reinforced his confidence. "All you have to do is look at the Pimlico news feed tape of the work and you'll see what I mean," said Zito Tuesday morning after A P Valentine walked on the shedrow. "He was just galloping. Jamie (Sanders) never moved a hand on him."

Marciano's Serious Training Over: Will Gallop up to Preakness
Trainer Tim Ritchey said that Federico Tesio Stakes winner Marciano will gallop up to the Preakness at Delaware Park. Reached there Tuesday afternoon where he was saddling several horses for races, Ritchey said that since the distance between Delaware Park and Pimlico is only 40 miles, he will ship the colt in on race day.

Monarchos Walks; Schools in Preakness Saddling Area
John Oxley's Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos walked the shedrow with Terri Upton on the shank Tuesday morning after a particularly impressive gallop on Monday morning. At about 10:30, Upton and assistant trainer Yvonne Azeff led the son of Maria's Mon out to the turf course to school and took a few turns in the area near the wire where the horses will be saddled. Monarchos appeared calm throughout and got a bath from groom Tammy Holz before returning to his stall. He is expected to have a light gallop Wednesday morning. Trainer John Ward had returned to Kentucky for a day and was expected back Wednesday, but he has said that "the three girls take very good care of him" when he is away from the colt. Azeff rode races for four or five years and campaigned at Monmouth as an apprentice when she shared the women's jockey room with Rosemary Homeister, Jr., when she was an apprentice, and Julie Krone and Brenda Zoppo.

Mr. John Breezes Half-Mile in 48 2/5 at Churchill
Thomas Van Meter II's Mr. John breezed a half-mile in 48 2/5 Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs and will be flown to Baltimore early Wednesday morning on the same Tex Sutton charter with Preakness contenders Point Given, Congaree and Dollar Bill. "He worked great," said trainer Elliott Walden from Churchill. "He went the last eighth in 11 and change. He's a fresh horse and has the tactical speed to place himself anywhere in a race. He's a real fast breaker, but will settle and rate. "I might have been tempted to run him in the Derby if he had won the Lexington but now I should have a nice horse for the rest of the year. I know from experience what the Derby can take out of a horse from Victory Gallop and Menifee. It's so tough to bring them back in the Preakness just two weeks after the Derby. "Both Victory Gallop and Menifee ran well in the Preakness but I don't think either of them ran as well as they did in the Derby. Victory Gallop was just drained after the Preakness. Good horses will come back to themselves but it takes a while." "This horse has gotten better with each start. The next question will be the distance. He's going a furlong farther than he's ever been, but he's earned the chance to find out."

Shaun Bridgmohan to Ride Griffinite
Trainer Jennifer Leigh-Pedersen said Tuesday that Griffinite will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan in the Preakness. It will be the first Triple Crown mount for Bridgmohan, who won an Eclipse Award in 1998 as the nation's outstanding apprentice jockey. The trainer said she had conferred with Paraneck Stable owner Ernie Paragallo in picking Bridgmohan. "Ernie gave me a couple of names and I went from there," Leigh-Pedersen said. "Ernie's very happy with Shaun. He's liked him for quite a while. I'm pleased we got Shaun. He's very able and he's willing to be patient with a horse. That's what we need." Griffinite, who rallied from fifth to win the seven-furlong Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland, galloped Tuesday under exercise rider Debby Landry. With only five of the Preakness starters on the grounds at Pimlico, Leigh-Pedersen was the subject of several interviews. She said she is getting into the excitement of her first Preakness and is pleased with the prospect of being just the ninth woman to train a starter in the race.

Percy Hope Walks and Schools on Turf Saddling Area
Waterfall Stable's Lone Star Derby winner Percy Hope walked the shedrow for the second day in a row as planned by trainer Tony Reinstedler after the homebred son of Ide worked a sharp half-mile in 47 flat here on Sunday morning. Assistant trainer Leslie Davis said, "He's a happy horseust fine. I'm going to take him out to school on the turf where he'll be saddled Saturday. We've never needed to school him. He's pretty cool, but he's never been saddled out in the open like he will be Saturday. "I'm going to follow Monarchos over, which is a good thing because I haven't even been up to the track since I got here and would need directions to get there. Now I can just follow Monarchos." Reinstedler returns from Kentucky later today.

Richly Blended Gallops; Works Wednesday for Preakness
Raymond Dweck's Richly Blended galloped a mile and a half over the Pimlico strip Tuesday morning, and is scheduled to breeze Wednesday morning in his final preparation for the Preakness. "He'll go out around 8:30 a.m.," said Baden "Buzz" Chace, the bloodstock agent who bought the Rizzi colt out of a Florida sale last year. Chace has been serving as an assistant for trainer Ben Perkins Jr., who remains at his Monmouth Park base in New Jersey. "Ben will be here for the work," Chace said. "We'll try to get Rick Wilson (Richly Blended's Preakness jockey) for the breeze, if he's available. If not, the regular exercise rider, Tony Gargan, will be up." Trainer Perkins said Richly Blended, who has won four of five career starts, including the Withers Stakes in his last start, would probably breeze a half-mile. The colt has had only one race around two turns (when he was third behind Congaree and Monarchos in the Wood Memorial) and is expected to be the main speed in Saturday's race.

Point Given, Congaree Ready to Ship to Pimlico
The Thoroughbred Corporation's Point Given and Stonerside Stable's Congaree, who had their final Preakness drills Monday at Churchill Downs, are ready for their trip to Pimlico, trainer Bob Baffert reported Tuesday morning. "They're doing great," Baffert said. "If they're on that plane to Baltimore, you know they're feeling good." Point Given worked five furlongs in 59 4/5 and Congaree was clocked the same distance in 1:00 2/5 over the Churchill Downs course Monday. It was their first serious exercise since the Kentucky Derby, where Point Given finished fifth as the favorite and Congaree was beaten a nose for second. The horses are leaving Kentucky on a chartered flight Wednesday morning that will also carry Preakness starters Dollar Bill and Mr. John. The plane is slated to leave Louisville at 7 a.m., and the horses are scheduled to arrive at Pimlico by van between 10 and 11 a.m. Baffert also arrives Wednesday, in time for the Preakness Draw, that will be held at the ESPN Zone in downtown Baltimore at 5 p.m.

Dollar Bill Due in Wednesday for Preakness
Gary and Mary West's Dollar Bill, who put in a sharp work at Churchill Downs Monday morning, will be shipped to Pimlico Wednesday, trainer Dallas Stewart said Tuesday morning. "He came out of the work in excellent shape," Stewart said. "I was happy with the work and happy with the way he acted today." Dollar Bill is scheduled to ship from Louisville on a Tex Sutton charter flight that will also carry Preakness starters Point Given, Congaree and Mr. John. The plane leaves Kentucky at 7 a.m. and the van carrying the horses will arrive at Pimlico in late morning. Stewart is traveling Tuesday and will be at Pimlico this evening. A son of Peaks and Valleys, Dollar Bill has had more lows than highs in big races this year. He has encountered serious traffic problems in the Louisiana Derby, where he finished fourth; the Blue Grass Stakes, where he was third, and the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 15th.

Bay Eagle Walks and Grazes at Delaware Park
Lazy Lane Farms' Bay Eagle walked and grazed for the second successive day at Delaware Park where the colt is stabled with a division of trainer Graham Motion's stable. "It's something I had planned all along with him," Motion said. "He's not a big, strong horse so I wanted to walk him two straight days after he worked. I'm very pleased with the way he's doing." Bay Eagle will ship into Pimlico from Delaware Park on Preakness morning.

Post Position Draw to Be Held Wednesday at ESPN Zone
The Maryland Jockey Club is hosting the 2001 Preakness Post Position Draw for the third straight year Wednesday at Baltimore's ESPN Zone in the Inner Harbor. This will be the fourth year of the "draft" style format where the entrants are allowed to choose their positions, rather than be automatically slotted with the position number they draw. It is also the fourth year that the draw will be broadcast nationally live on ESPN.

The show is hosted by Chris Fowler and Randy Moss and features Triple Crown race caller Dave Johnson with Jeannine Edwards handling interviews of trainers and owners as they make their choices during the progress of the draw.

The 2001 Preakness Post Position Draw Show will begin at 5 p.m. and run through 6 p.m. followed by horsemen's interviews.

The country's first ESPN Zone is a 35,000 square foot sports-themed dining and entertainment complex. Since its opening in 1998, the Zone has been the venue for a variety of national broadcast events, including the ESPY Awards Nomination Show, and national ABC Monday Night Football pre-game and halftime shows. The giant screen TV and bank of televisions behind the set will feature racing video clips mixed with live shots of the actual draw and its participants as the show progresses.

Maryland Jockey Club President and CEO Joseph De Francis will lead off the program with a welcome to this event. Baltimore Ravens return specialist Jermaine Lewis will be the celebrity on hand to participate in the order of selection phase. The Ravens have granted permission for the Vince Lombardi Trophy to be on site for the event. It will be on stage with the Woodlawn Vase, the $1 million trophy presented to the winner of the Preakness.