Oxbow Wins 138th Preakness Stakes

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There will be no Triple Crown winner this year.

Oxbow won the 138th Preakness Stakes on Saturday while Kentucky Derby winner Orb finished fourth in the field of nine horses.

There has not been a Triple Crown winner since 1978.

“I get paid to spoil dreams,” winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas told USA Today.

Orb, the overwhelming 3-5 favorite, had won his past five races heading into the Preakness, broke well but was no better than fifth and finished fourth, eight lengths being Oxbow, who went off at 15-1.

Jockey Joel Rosario, who rode Orb to a dominating win at the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, said his horse “never took off. He just steadied. Today, was not his day.”

The day belonged to Oxbow, who finished sixth in the Derby, and veteran jockey Gary Stevens. The 50-year-old Stevens, who came out of retirement from the broadcast booth, won his ninth Triple Crown race — he has won each one three times.

“When I hit the half-mile pole, I said ‘Are you kidding me? Is this happening?’ The race was over at the point. I just walked the dog to the half-mile pole.”

Oxbow, in leading wire-to-wire, finished in 1:57.54. Itsmylucky day was second and Mylute finished third. Oxbow was the fifth-longest shot to win in Preakness history, and paid $32.80 on a $2 bet.

“It’s so special,” Stevens said. “Wayne supported me all along. Wayne is like a brother, a coach and a father figure to me.”

The win was Lukas’ sixth at the Preakness and his 15th Triple Crown victory — the most by anyone.

No one was more disappointed than longtime trainer Shug McGaughey, who saw his hopes for a Triple Crown vanish this year with Orb’s struggles.

McGaughey said on Friday that “freaky” things happen in racing and “there are a lot of ways to lose.” On Saturday, he said he’ll probably be “more disappointed tomorrow,” but “I know the game.”

The third leg of the Triple Crown — the Belmont Stakes — will be on June 8 at Orb’s home track in Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y