LONDON, Ontario — The judge handling the trial of five Canadian hockey players accused of sexual assault dismissed the jury Friday after a complaint that defense attorneys were laughing at some of the jurors.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will now handle the high-profile case on her own.

The issue arose Thursday after one of the jurors submitted a note indicating that several jury members felt they were being judged and laughed at by lawyers representing one of the accused as they came into the courtroom each day. The lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding, denied the allegation.

Carroccia said she had not seen any behavior that would cause her concern, but she concluded that the jurors’ negative impression of the defense could impact the jury’s impartiality and was a problem that could not be remedied.

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault last year after an incident with a then-20-year-old woman that allegedly took place when they were in London for a Hockey Canada gala celebrating their championship at that year’s world junior tournament. McLeod faces an additional charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault.

All have pleaded not guilty. None of them is on an NHL roster or has an active contract with a team in the league.

The woman, appearing via a video feed from another room in the courthouse, has testified that she was drunk, naked and scared when men started coming into a hotel room and that she felt she had to go along with what the men wanted her to do. Prosecutors contend the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure she was voluntarily consenting to sexual acts.

Defense attorneys have cross-examined her for days and suggested she actively participated in or initiated sexual activity because she wanted a “wild night.” The woman said that she has no memory of saying those things and that the men should have been able to see she wasn’t in her right mind.

A police investigation into the incident was closed without charges in 2019. Hockey Canada ordered its own investigation but dropped it in 2020 after prolonged efforts to get the woman to participate. Those efforts were restarted amid an outcry over a settlement reached by Hockey Canada and others with the woman in 2022.

Police announced criminal charges in early 2024, saying they were able to proceed after collecting new evidence they did not detail.

BALTIMORE — Margie’s Intention outran Paris Lily in the stretch to win the Black-Eyed Susan by three-quarters of a length Friday.

The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies was delayed around an hour because of a significant storm that passed over Pimlico, darkening the sky above the venue. Margie’s Intention, the 5-2 favorite at race time, had little difficulty on the sloppy track with Flavien Prat aboard.

Paris Lily started impressively and was in front in the second turn, but she was eventually overtaken by Margie’s Intention on the outside.

Kinzie Queen was third.

Morning line favorite Runnin N Gunnin finished last in the nine-horse field.

The 150th running of the Preakness won’t have the fanfare of previous years.

There will be no Triple Crown on the line and no rematch of the 1-2 finishers in the Kentucky Derby after trainer Bill Mott elected to point Sovereignty toward the Belmont and bypass the Preakness.

Just three horses who ran in the Kentucky Derby will run in the Preakness on Saturday — Journalism, who finished second to Sovereignty, American Promise (16th) and Sandman (seventh). Nine horses will enter the race, including several newcomers to the Triple Crown trail.

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While a Kentucky Derby winner skipping the Preakness is a rarity over the history of the race, it’s become more common in recent years. Country House, who won the 2019 Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security was disqualified, was not entered into the race by Mott due to a cough. Other ailments ended his career early and he never raced again.

Rich Strike was not entered in the 2022 Preakness and neither was 2021 winner Mandaloun, who was not declared the official winner of the Kentucky Derby until Medina Spirit was officially disqualified after failing a postrace drug test.

The modern order of the Triple Crown races, with the Kentucky Derby first and the Belmont last, was established permanently in 1932, with some exceptions. Notable Kentucky Derby winners who skipped the second leg are: Grindstone (1996, career-ending injury), Spend a Buck (1985), Gato Del Sol (1982), Tomy Lee (1959), Swaps (1955), Determine (1954), Hill Gail (1952), Count Turf (1951) and Lawrin (1938).

This will be the final Preakness run at Pimlico for several years, as the 155-year-old track is set to undergo renovations for the next several years, including the replacement of the current grandstand for a smaller version. The Preakness will move to Laurel Park until renovations are complete.

Betting the Preakness

by Katherine Terrell

What’s the big draw now that the Kentucky Derby winner is out of the race? Journalism, who went off as the betting favorite in the race, gets a chance for redemption.

While putting Journalism on top of our Kentucky Derby bets didn’t quite pan out, he’s certainly going to be a worthy, and heavy, favorite in this race. Don’t take his second-place finish as a knock on his talent — he’s the most accomplished horse in this field.

What about Sandman, who drew significant attention in the Kentucky Derby due to his name? Sandman was named after the Metallica Song “Enter Sandman,” and the band recently posted a video cheering him on ahead of the Preakness.

Sandman’s trainer Mark Casse said the horse had tender feet going into his last race, causing him to sport glue-on shoes, but he has since been switched back to normal horseshoes. Sandman is a closer, meaning he would need a fast pace up front to be able to pass tiring horses and win this race.

Some of the more intriguing newcomers are Goal Oriented, trained by Bob Baffert and Steve Asmussen trainee Clever Again. Both are lightly raced, and bettors who are looking for better odds than Journalism provides might hope one of these two horses takes a step forward.

That’s the same situation as Gosger, who is 20-1 on the morning line but recently won the Grade III Lexington Stakes. He will also have to take a step forward or hope Journalism runs poorly off two weeks rest.

Journalism can sit back off the pace and hope the leaders get into a speed duel, a possibility with a lot of speed in the race. Either way, he’ll be a tough favorite to bet.

About the above chart: A Beyer number is a ratings system for speed during races. Some think horses need at least one race where they run a 95 Beyer number or over to be competitive in the Derby. Many of these horses have races where they’ve run over a 100 Beyer number or better.

The logical bet: Journalism to win (8-5) but will require a large bet to get a decent return.

The slightly better odds bet: Clever Again to win (5-1)

Two suggested bets:

• Exacta box: Journalism/Clever Again

• Trifecta: Journalism over Clever Again over River Thames, Gosger.

Best plays

by Anita Marks

No. 2 Journalism (8-5) is favored and rightfully so. He ran a great race in the Derby, but Sovereignty was just the better horse that day. With such a small field (nine horses), along with his pedigree, Journalism should dominate.

Other horses I fancy in the Preakness:

Clever Again (5-1) is a unique animal with a lot of talent. I believe he is the second-best horse in the race. Son of American Pharaoh — who won the Triple Crown — and trained by Steve Asmussen, an excellent trainer. He is super fast, is in great form and is training well.

Goal Oriented (6-1): A Bob Baffert horse. and will have one of the best jockeys on his back in Flavien Prat. He has the speed to come out of the No. 1 post and will be sent hard. Son of Not This Time and was the winner of a 1 1/16-mile race on the Kentucky Derby undercard. This will be his third race.

Preakness Plays:

• To win or place: Clever Again

• Exacta box: Goal Oriented, Journalism, Clever Again