Klein Criticizes Stephens for Preakness Tactics

Gene Klein, owner of Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors, called Woody Stephens a “hall of shame trainer” for his efforts to ruin the filly’s chances at the Preakness Stakes.

And in a rare front-page editorial, The Daily Racing Form accused the Hall of Fame trainer, who has won five Belmont Stakes, of “unsportinglike conduct,” for the strategy he used in the Preakness.

“I think it’s very obvious that Woody Stephens was out to deliberately stop our filly from winning,” Klein told the New York Daily News. “This cost the owner of Forty Niner a tremendous amount of money because his syndication value was cut in half after that race.”

Klein’s comments stem from incidents in last Saturday’s Preakness, when the Stephens-trained Forty Niner battled with the Wayne Lukas-trained filly from the gate, until both tired in the stretch. Risen Star was the winner, with Winning Colors third and Forty Niner seventh.

In its editorial, the Form said that “(jockey) Pat Day, in riding Forty Niner, bumped, brushed and intimidated the gallant filly . . . so that the filly lost all chance even though there was nothing so flagrant as to warrant a steward’s inquiry.”

Stephens said he told Day to run with Winning Colors because he thought it was Forty Niner’s only chance for victory.

“I don’t know why all the heat’s coming to me,” Stephens said. “All I did was try to figure out the best way to win. . . . Someone must dislike me and (owner-breeder) Claiborne (Farm).”

Winning Colors jockey Gary Stevens accused Stephens of deliberately trying to end the filly’s Triple Crown chances without regard to Forty Niner’s well-being.

Said Klein: “He (Stephens) is obviously so jealous of Wayne Lukas that he threw away any chance he had to win the race to see that she didn’t win. It’s probably as stupid a maneuver as anyone has ever pulled in horse racing and one that did the sport a tremendous amount of harm.”