BALTIMORE – Kenny McPeek has made a career out of proving the naysayers wrong, and the trainer did it once again Saturday when he sent out Swiss Skydiver to become just the sixth filly in history to win the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. “People said, ‘Why are you running her in there?’” said McPeek, who incurred criticism on social media and elsewhere for defying convention by entering Swiss Skydiver against males in the 145th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness. “She’s an amazing filly, that’s why.” Swiss Skydiver, ridden by Robby Albarado, outgamed the Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in a thrilling stretch duel. She returned $25.40 and became the first filly to win the Preakness since Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and just the second since Nellie Morse in 1924. :: Click to learn about our DRF's Free Past Performance program. The Preakness was run before fewer than a thousand people, unlike in recent years when more than 100,000 jammed into this historic track. The coronavirus pandemic not only restricted attendance to participants and essential personnel, but it also was run out of its traditional order as the second jewel of the Triple Crown, postponed from its original May 16 date while serving instead as the third and final leg of the series. A savvy ride by Albarado – whose otherwise outstanding career had reached its nadir in recent times – was critical to victory. With Swiss Skydiver poised just behind Thousand Words, who had held a short lead over his Bob Baffert stablemate Authentic from early on, Albarado made a decisive move leaving the backstretch. He quickly moved his mount around a tiring Thousand Words while simultaneously securing the rail just inside of Authentic, who had been in a relaxed rhythm from the outset with John Velazquez aboard. From there, the battle was joined. Swiss Skydiver and Authentic sped off to leave the nine others behind, engaging in a furious head-and-head battle through the turn and down the stretch. The issue was in doubt to the final yards, when Swiss Skydiver edged narrowly ahead, prevailing by a neck and finishing the 1 3/16-mile distance in 1:53.28 over a fast track. The time was the second-fastest for the Preakness since Secretariat covered the distance in 1:53 in 1973. The chestnut daughter of Daredevil is owned by Peter Callahan, who was not on hand because of coronavirus concerns. “I had to make a conscious decision in the middle of the backside,” said Albarado. “I jumped in there. I knew Authentic usually stays off the fence a bit … my plan was to stay inside him. It was a sprint home, and she was determined to be in front of him and wasn’t letting him pass. She has a heart of gold. A true champion, yes.” “The job Robby did today was incredible,” said McPeek. Jesus’ Team, a 40-1 shot, was 9 3/4 lengths back in third, with Art Collector, the 2-1 second choice, finishing a head behind him in fourth. It had been more than 13 years since Albarado, now 47, won a photo finish in the 2007 Preakness aboard Curlin over the Derby winner Street Sense. It was sweet vindication for a highly accomplished jockey whose career has been waylaid by diminishing opportunities. :: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Owing mostly to pandemic-related restrictions and an incredibly busy weekend of racing around the country resulting in other top jockeys being booked elsewhere, Albarado picked up the mount when Tyler Gaffalione and his agent, Matt Muzikar, felt they could wait no longer on a decision from McPeek and opted to ride instead at Keeneland on Saturday. “I owe it all to Kenny,” said Albarado, who has amassed more than 5,200 wins and $220 million in mount earnings. “I mean, he believed in me still, and, sorry, it’s Kenny. People started thinking I can’t do it anymore and Kenny was there just when I needed someone.” “Robby and I have had a great week here,” said McPeek. “We basically flew up together, had breakfast, lunch, dinner. I think we were just rowing in the same direction and the mojo was good and it happened.” The narrow defeat for Authentic, the 3-2 favorite off his 1 1/4-length triumph over Tiz the Law in the Kentucky Derby, denied Baffert a record eighth Preakness victory, and he remains tied with R.W. Walden with seven. Remarkably, Baffert had won the Preakness all five times he previously brought the Derby winner here, including with his last two, American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018), both eventual Triple Crown winners. Baffert is the all-time leader in Triple Crown wins with 16. Regarding Authentic, Baffert said: “He had the whole stretch to get by her, and she ran a gallant race. But you know what, that’s a good filly. He had every chance to get by her. She’s tough.” The race was so close that McPeek wasn’t sure Swiss Skydiver had won. “I was a little worried when they got to the sixteenth pole and Authentic looked like he got his head in front,” he said. “I’m just thrilled she fought on like she did.” McPeek said his decision to run Swiss Skydiver was delayed as long as it was partly because it hinged largely on the status of Tiz the Law, whose victories in the June 20 Belmont Stakes and Aug. 8 Travers had rendered him a force in the 3-year-old division. “If Tiz the Law had run, we probably wouldn’t have,” said McPeek, whose lone prior win in a Triple Crown race came in 2002 when Sarava upset the Belmont at 70-1. McPeek’s most logical alternative for Swiss Skydiver was the Grade 1 Spinster, to be run the day after the Preakness at Keeneland, but he decided to roll the dice in the absence of Tiz the Law. Swiss Skydiver already had won four graded stakes this year versus her own sex and most recently had been the runner-up in the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks. Winning the Preakness might have clinched her a divisional championship. “We have plenty of time to run against older horses, and I thought adding an extra sixteenth was ideal for her,” he said. “But it actually was a tough call.” The Preakness is a Win and You’re In toward the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, but McPeek said he was unsure whether Swiss Skydiver will run next in the Classic or the BC Distaff the same day. :: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more. Either way, McPeek, who has stable earnings of more than $87 million in 35 years of training, will forever be enamored with Swiss Skydiver. “She’s been incredible,” he said. “Horses tell you when they are doing good. She always tells us she’s doing good. I know there were those naysayers saying, ‘Why are you doing that, it’s the worse thing you can do.’ She is just a real bull. She loves what she does every day.” Swiss Skydiver now has won 6 of 11 starts, with the $600,000 winner’s share moving her career bankroll to $1,792,980. For Art Collector, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., it was a day of disappointment. Racing in tight quarters from the start between Swiss Skydiver to his inside and Pneumatic to his outside, the colt “just didn’t get the kind of trip we’d hoped for,” said his trainer, Tommy Drury. “Then when he was in the clear and Brian needed him to keep up with the top two, they just got away from him,” Drury said. “It just wasn’t our day, unfortunately.” After the top four, the order of finish was Max Player, Excession, Mr. Big News, Thousand Words, Ny Traffic, Pneumatic, and Liveyourbeastlife. The $2 exacta (4-9) paid $75.60, the $1 trifecta (4-9-6) returned $1,205.70, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-9-6-3) was worth $505.30. This was the second straight year that all three Triple Crown events were won by different horses. – additional reporting by Joseph Swavy