2019 Kentucky Derby Winner: Assessing Country House's Triple Crown Chances

One of the unlikeliest Triple Crown hunts will start on May 18 at the Preakness Stakes.

Country House, a 65-1 outsider, won the Kentucky Derby in improbable fashion after a review disqualified Maximum Security.

For the first time, trainer William I. Mott will embark on a Triple Crown hunt, but his colt should face a group of talented horses at Pimlico Race Course.

Country House will enter into the Preakness Stakes as the Kentucky Derby winner, but it is unknown which horses will join him on the third Saturday of May.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Conventional knowledge would lead you to believe that the favored horses who ran well at Churchill Downs will get another shot to take home a Triple Crown race.

If you use that logic, Improbable, Tacitus and Game Winner should be part of the Preakness field.

A year ago, Kentucky Derby winner Justify went up against three other Derby horses in the eight-horse field at the Preakness Stakes.

The non-champions from the Kentucky Derby entered in the 2018 Preakness all finished in the top 10 at Churchill Downs, including second-placed finisher Good Magic.

It is likely Bob Baffert sends more than one of his championship horses to Maryland, and if that is the case, Improbable and Game Winner should be the choices after Roadster struggled Saturday.

Tacitus, who is also trained by Mott, would be a good horse to have in the field as well, but Mott might not want to add a strong competitor to a field including his Triple Crown contender.

Other Derby horses to keep an eye on as the Preakness field comes together are War of Will—the horse impeded by Maximum Security—Win Win Win and Vekoma.

As for Country House, he was not considered one of the strongest horses going into the Kentucky Derby.

The best finish for the Mott-trained horse in 2019 was a second-placed mark at the Risen Star Stakes. In more competitive fields, Country House placed third in the Arkansas Derby and fourth in the Louisiana Derby.

If you go by Country House's performances before the Kentucky Derby, it seems unlikely he will come away with a second victory in a row.

But as we saw Saturday in Kentucky, anything is possible of happening in a crowded Triple Crown field.