Early Voting wins 147th running of Preakness Stakes

BALTIMORE -- Maybe extra rest isn't such a bad thing for a racehorse after all.In the Preakness Stakes that was run without the Kentucky Derby winner because Rich Strike's owner felt he needed more time off after his 80-1 upset, Early Voting validated a gutsy decision to skip the Derby and aim for the second leg of the Triple Crown.Early Voting held off hard-charging favorite Epicenter to win the Preakness on Saturday, rewarding trainer Chad Brown and owner Seth Klarman for their patience. And a good horse did run up on us near the wire and it was about the only one that could run with us."After just two Triple Crown winners in the past four-plus decades, Rich Strike owner Rick Dawson took plenty of criticism for skipping the Preakness because he felt the horse needed more rest to prepare for the Belmont Stakes on June 11.Some of that might be muted in the aftermath of Early Voting's impressive performance."That's very hard to get an owner to pass on the Derby, and they did the right choice," said Ortiz, who won the Preakness for the first time.