Jaime Torres wins the Preakness with Seize the Grey 2 years after starting to ride horses

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jaime Torres was watching horse racing on television in his native Puerto Rico in 2019 when he decided he wanted to be a jockey.

Less than five years later and just two since he began riding, Torres won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday aboard Seize the Grey. To add even more to the biggest accomplishment of his young career, his parents flew to Baltimore to surprise him and were able to celebrate his upset victory.

Torres said he made the decision to quit college and go to jockey school and thought to himself that if he does it, he needs to make it.

“I haven’t rested since then,” the 25-year-old Torres said. “I’ve been working very hard, very hard, not thinking what’s going to happen but working for it. You can’t think like, ‘Oh, that’s going to happen.’ You’ve just got to work and work, and it will come.”

Torres, who also guided Seize the Grey to victory in the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 4 at Churchill Downs, had never ridden a Triple Crown race before. He's now 1 for 1.

Sitting next to Torres at the winners' post-race news conference, 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas told him he used to live and is still close friends with the best Puerto Rican jockey Angel Cordero, who won the Derby three times, the Preakness twice and the Belmont Stakes once.

“If you can just follow in his footsteps with his desire and so forth, you’re going to be just fine,” Lukas said.

Preakness officials did not yet have an attendance figure, but the stands and infield were noticeably less crowded than in recent years — certainly a product of the on-and-off rain that fell throughout the day.

There were just under 47,000 fans at the race last year and 42,000 in 2022, which were significant declines from 100,000-plus each time from 2011-19.

Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert was one of the first people to congratulate Lukas on his victory, which also came with his horse, Imagination, finishing seventh in the field of eight. Baffert was supposed to have the favorite in the race, but Muth was scratched Wednesday because of a fever.

Imagination's jockey, accomplished Italian rider Frankie Dettori, said he could not get the colt to relax during the Preakness.

“I think he wanted to run,” Baffert said. “We didn't really have a plan. We thought it would be Wayne or us. Frankie probably thought he was in a good spot. At the end of the day, it was a great tactic.”

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Jaime Torres, left, atop Seize The Grey, edges out Flavien Prat, atop Catching Freedom, to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Jockey Jaime Torres celebrates atop Seize The Grey after winning the Preakness Stakes horse race, Saturday, May 18, 2024, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Jaime Torres, left, atop Seize The Grey, crosses the finish line in front of Flavien Prat, center, atop Catching Freedom, and Brian Hernandez, Jr., atop Mystik Dan, while winning the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Jaime Torres, left, atop Seize The Grey, tosses Black-Eyed Susan petals to a member of his team after winning the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jaime Torres kisses Seize The Grey after they won the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jaime Torres, left, kisses the Woodlawn Vase, as Seize The Grey part owner, Michael Behrens, center, founder and CEO of MyRacehorse, and trainer D. Wayne Lukas, right, look on after winning the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jaime Torres, atop Seize The Grey, looks on during post time prior to participating and winning the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying “a super-large warhead,” a claim quickly disputed by South Korean officials and experts who speculate the North likely fabricated a successful test to conceal a botched launch.

It’s the second time that South Korea has questioned North Korea’s claim on the development of new weapons in recent days, as the rivals are locked in heightened animosities over the North’s testing activities.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that Monday’s test involved the Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5 missile, which can carry a 4.5 ton-class warhead. It said the test was meant to verify the weapon’s flight stability and hit accuracy at the maximum range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) and the minimum range of 90 kilometers (55 miles).

The test apparently refers to the two ballistic missile launches that South Korea said North Korea performed Monday.

Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said at a briefing later Tuesday that the second North Korean missile was found to have fallen on an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the North’s capital. He said he could find few previous test-launches by North Korea that have aimed at ground target sites.

“Regarding the North Korean assessment, we’re weighing a possibility of deception,” Lee said.

The South Korean military has said the second North Korean missile possibly traveled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight. It said if the missile exploded, its debris would likely have scattered on the ground.

The KCNA dispatch didn’t say from where it launched the new missile and where it landed. Unlike previous weapons tests, North Korea also didn’t publicize any photos of Monday’s test. The fact that it tested both the missile’s maximum and minimum ranges suggested North Korea performed two launches.

KCNA, citing North Korea’s Missile Administration, reported that North Korea will test-fire the missile again later in July to verify the performances of its simulated warhead at the medium range of 250 kilometers (155 miles).

Some experts say test-firing missiles at ground targets could be related to efforts to test how powerful warheads are to destroy underground bunkers and structures.

But Shin Jongwoo, a Seoul-based military expert, said the lack of any photos on the launches means it’s highly likely the North is trying to deceive the outsiders to cover up Monday’s failed launches. He said North Korea likely launched an existing missile on Monday, not the new missile at it claimed.

Yang Uk, an analyst at Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that Monday’s tests reflected North Korea’s push to acquire a variety of conventional weapons. But he also said if North Korea truly succeeded in hitting a ground target, it probably would have already published related images to brag about its achievements as it’s done in the past.

Since 2022, North Korea has sharply accelerated weapons testing activities to enlarge its nuclear arsenal. The North Korea-claimed ranges of the newly tested missile imply it targets South Korea. Experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use an expanded weapons arsenal to increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the U.S.

On June 26, North Korea launched what it called a new multiwarhead missile in the first known test of a developmental weapon aimed at penetrating its rivals’ missile defenses. North Korea said the launch was successful, but South Korea dismissed the North’s claim as deception to cover up a failed launch. South Korea said the weapon blew up, sending debris in the waters off the North's east coast.

Also Tuesday, South Korea held live-fire drills near the heavily fortified land border with North Korea, the first of its kind since the South suspended a 2018 agreement with the North aimed at reducing front-line military tensions in early June. Last week, South Korea conducted similar firing exercises near its disputed western sea boundary with North Korea.

The back-to-back South Korean exercises could prompt North Korea, which also said it won’t be bound by the 2018 pact any longer, to take provocative steps at border areas.

Meanwhile, during a four-day key ruling party meeting that ended Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed that his country’s economic and food situations have improved and presented officials tasks to maintain a steady economic development, KCNA said Tuesday. It didn’t mention whether the meeting discussed any security or foreign policy issues.

A TV screen shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this photo provided on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held from June 28 until July 1, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held from June 28 until July 1, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)