Preakness 2012: Union Rags To Skip Pimlico Race

After a seventh-place finish at last Saturday's Kentucky Derby, the trainer and owner of Union Rags have decided not to run the horse in the Preakness Stakes at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course May 19.

"It's a long year and I just don't think it's necessary to bring him back in two weeks if he doesn't have a chance at the Triple Crown," [Trainer Michael] Matz told The Blood-Horse May 9.

Union Rags went off at 5-1 odds from the No. 4 post in the Run for the Roses, but was obstructed by heavy traffic on his run, and finished seventh.

Bids in the Preakness' 14-horse field are determined by positions on horse-racing's graded-earnings list. Derby winner I'll Have Another, runner-up Bodemeister, Went The Day Well, Dullahan, and Creative Cause have all earned automatic slots in the field by placing in the top seven on that list.

For more on the Preakness Stakes and the race for the Triple Crown, stay with this StoryStream and check out SB Nation's horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come.