There will be no Triple Crown winner in 2019.
Kentucky Derby winner Country House will not run in the Preakness Stakes, his trainer told the Daily Racing Form on Tuesday.
"He developed a little bit of a cough this morning," Bill Mott told the DRF. "His appetite is good. He doesn't have a fever. But he's coughing. We drew blood. He's acting like he's going to get sick. He's off the training list, and if he's off the training list he's off the Preakness list."
Mott added Country House is "not seriously sick right now" but indications are he might be dealing with a viral illness of some sort.
Country House was declared the winner of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday after stewards determined Maximum Security had committed a foul on the final turn as he headed to a wire-to-wire win.
Maximum Security also will skip the Preakness, his owner Gary West said Monday.
With the top two finishers in the Derby out of the field, the May 18 race at Pimlico will have a much lower profile than last year's event, which saw Derby winner Justify hang on to secure the second leg of the Triple Crown he would complete the following month at the Belmont Stakes.
It has been more than 20 years since a Derby winner skipped the Preakness, with Grindstone ruled out in 1996 due to a bone chip in his knee.
Mott told reporters Saturday he had initially planned to keep Country House out of the Preakness and save him for the Belmont on June 8, but winning the Derby made running in Baltimore almost an obligation.
