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Rival owners nix plan to box filly out of Preakness

Saturday's 134th Preakness at Pimlico erupted into controversy Sunday morning when Mark Allen, co-owner of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, tried to enlist Ahmed Zayat, owner of Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, in a conspiracy to bump superfilly Rachel Alexandra from running in the Maryland classic by puffing up the field and leaving no room for her.

Purchased last week by Kendall-Jackson wine magnate Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra, coming off a 20-length romp in the Kentucky Oaks, will be the solid favorite when she takes on the boys in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, especially after working a half-mile in :48.2 Sunday at Churchill Downs.

But Allen was dead-set on not losing Mine That Bird's jockey, Calvin Borel, who is committed to ride Rachel Alexandra.

To keep her out, Allen planned to enter a maiden, 0-for-8 Indy Express, and he called Zayat, urging him to enter another colt besides Pioneerof the Nile.

The field is limited to 14 starters, with preference given to horses that are "properly nominated" to the Triple Crown. With 12 horses already probable starters, another two or three nominees would leave Rachel Alexandra - who must be supplemented to the Preakness for $100,000 because she was not nominated by her former owners - on the outside looking in.

For most of the day, it looked as if Rachel Alexandra would be bumped. But cooler heads prevailed.

First, Zayat backed off. Perhaps convinced by Pioneerof the Nile's trainer, Bob Baffert, that keeping her out was a bad PR move, he appeared on TVG later in the afternoon to say that, although he did not think Rachel Alexandra should run in the Preakness for a variety of reasons, he was "happy not to block her if everybody wants that."

Next, John Hendrickson, Whitney's husband and racing manager, told Bloodhorse.com: "If we are the deciding factor that would exclude Rachel Alexandra, we will withdraw, period."

Allen finally put the whole issue to rest last night, telling SI.com: "I was thinking about entering a maiden in the Preakness, to get Calvin back to keep that filly out of the race. But that ain't right."

Zayat kickstarted the controversy on HRTV.

"I got a phone call this morning [and], lo and behold, it was the owner of the Derby winner," Zayat said. " 'You don't know me,' he said. 'I'm Mark Allen. Listen, I have a request ...' "

According to Zayat, Allen said the Preakness should be a showdown between their two colts, and he was entering an A.P. Indy colt to block the filly from the race.

"Can you please help us? It's good for the game."

Later on HRTV, Allen confirmed his attempt to bump Rachel Alexandra.

Zayat said he has been "bombarded" by calls from people in the racing industry who don't want the filly to run. One, he claimed, was a representative of Marylou Whitney, who raced Mine That Bird's sire, Birdstone.

But Lukas was incensed by the suggestion that Luv Gov, who recently broke his maiden in his 10th start, was running to block Rachel Alexandra.

"We've evaluated the rest of the field, not including the filly -- obviously, she changes the complexion of the race -- and our numbers on his maiden win on Derby Day were just as good as some of the numbers of the Derby horses," Lukas told The Post.

"We think he's a Belmont horse, and the Preakness would be the best way of getting him there. Case closed."

Before the path was cleared for Rachel Alexandra to run, Jackson issued a statement saying: "I want the fans to know we are prepared to enter, and I'm hopeful her entry will be accepted. I know we all want the thrill of seeing her race next weekend."