Orb's Powerful Pedigree in Preakness 2013

Trainer Shug McGaughey told interviewers he wasn't concerned at the No. 1 Post draw for Orb, his Kentucky Derby winner, as he prepares the colt for the Preakness Stakes, second jewel in the American Thoroughbred racing Triple Crown series, which is scheduled at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore Maryland on May 18, 2013.

Orb burst out of the Kentucky Derby gate on May 4 with jockey Joel Rosario quickly snapping him over toward the left side of the pack, behind the trailers, from the No. 16 Post. It was a poor start for the talented son of Malibu Moon and grandson of A. P. Indy. Rosario's astute ride early on saved his mount for a tremendous rush in the lane, where Orb overcame the leaders and won going away by 2-1/2 lengths.

Orb won the Derby for McGaughey, presenting the Hall of Fame trainer with his first Run for the Roses victory, and owners Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable, as the race's co-favorite. The Derby victory was Orb's fifth straight win. He out-raced co-favorite Verrazano, who came to the Derby unbeaten in four trips to the starting gate.

A. P. Indy, recently pensioned from a long, successful stud career, was voted Horse of the Year for 1992, the year he won the Breeders' Cup Classic with jockey Eddie Delahoussaye. Indy is a son of 1977 Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year, Seattle Slew. With Mr. Prospector mares, Indy formerly ruled North American sire championships.

Also in Orb's sire family is Secretariat, 1973 Triple Crown winner. Secretariat paired with Lassie Dear to produce Weekend Surprise, Seattle Slew mate who foaled A. P. Indy. Mr. Prospector and Maximova produced Macoumba, A. P. Indy's mare who produced Malibu Moon.

On Orb's maternal side, dam Lady Liberty is out of Mesabi Maiden, who paired with Unbridled, a grandson of Mr. Prospector. Mesabi Maiden traces from the great racer and Hall of Famer Damascus, sired by Sword Dancer.

Sword Dancer raced to Horse of the Year in 1959 when he won the Belmont Stakes, third jewel of the American Triple Crown, and is ranked No. 53 on the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century list, a definitive book published in 1999 by Blood-Horse Publications.

Kentucky Derby victor Orb will lead off the Preakness Stakes from the No. 1 Post Position. The following posts make up the rest of the nine-horse field:

• No. 2 -- Goldencents, 17th in the Derby; jockey Kevin Krigger; trainer Doug O'Neill
• No. 3 -- Titletown Five, new shooter ridden by Julien Leparoux; trainer D. Wayne Lukas
• No. 4 -- Departing, new shooter ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr.; trainer Al Stall Jr.
• No. 5 -- Mylute, 5th in the Derby; jockey Rosie Napravnik; trainer Tom Amoss
• No. 6 -- Oxbow, 6th in the Derby; jockey Gary Stevens; trainer D. Wayne Lukas
• No. 7 -- Will Take Charge, 8th in the Derby; jockey Mike Smith; trainer D. Wayne Lukas
• No. 8 -- Govenor Charlie, new shooter ridden by Martin Garcia; trainer Bob Baffert
• No. 9 -- Itsmyluckyday, 15th in the Derby; jockey John Velazquez; trainer Eddie Plesa Jr.

The 2013 Preakness Stakes will have the same triple notation as the Kentucky Derby. Gary Stevens, riding as one of the oldest active jockeys, once again will pilot Oxbow; Rosie Napravnik, the only female jockey in the field, repeats on Mylute; and Kevin Krigger, the only black jockey to ride Thoroughbreds in the Triple Crown since the turn of the 20th Century, saddles up for the second time in the 2013 Triple Crown races on Goldencents.

Rosario, who is the 2013 season's jockey on fire, is the leading rider at Keeneland and mounts Orb in the Preakness Stakes in hopes of winning a second straight Triple Crown race. Last March, Rosario won the Dubai World Cup on 2011 Kentucky Derby champion Animal Kingdom. The Dubai World Cup is the richest prize in the world in Thoroughbred racing. Two weeks ago, when Rosario won the Derby with Orb, he became just the second jockey in racing history to win the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby in the same season. Jerry Bailey won the two races in 1996.