Even more so than usual, the eyes of the horse-racing world will be on the Kentucky Derby winner on Saturday at the Preakness Stakes.
They will be peering in to see if Mystik Dan can not only win the second jewel of the Triple Crown, but also whether his handlers made the right move by running him two weeks after his upset victory at Churchill Downs.
Advertisem*nt
Mystik Dan had a similar turnaround in November when he notched his maiden win but followed it up with a fifth-place finish in a claiming race 13 days later.
His Preakness competition got lighter on Wednesday with the scratching of Muth, the horse who opened as the favorite. Now Mystik Dan becomes the presumptive favorite with Muth waiting for him at the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.
Here’s a look at the Preakness Stakes field.
Essentials
What: 149th Preakness Stakes
When: Saturday, 7:01 p.m. Race 13 of 14.
Where: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore.
Distance: 1 3/16 miles.
TV: CNBC (1-4:30 p.m.), NBC (4:30-7:30 p.m.).
Streaming: NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, Peaco*ck.
Weather.com: Rain throughout the day, accumulating about a quarter of an inch. Temperatures in the 60s.
The purse
Total: $2 million. First place: $1.2 million. Second place: $400,000. Third place: $220,000. Fourth place: $120,000. Fifth place: $60,000.
Other Triple Crown races: Kentucky Derby (winner: Mystik Dan), Belmont Stakes (June 8).
The field
Program number is listed. After No. 4 Muth was scratched, the horses from 5 to 9 moved up one spot in post position.
1 — Mugatu (20-1)
Trainer: Jeff Engler. Jockey: Joe Bravo.
Career earnings: $80,570
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 5-0-0-2
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 12-1-1-3
Last three: Blue Grass Stakes (5th), Rushaway Stakes/Black (8th), John Battaglia Stakes (4th).
Notable: Plenty of racing experience, though not much success. Was 7-plus lengths behind last time out.
2 — Uncle Heavy (20-1)
Trainer: Butch Reid Jr. Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Career earnings: $323,580
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 2-1-0-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 5-3-0-0
Last three: Wood Memorial (5th), Withers Stakes (1st), Wait For It Stakes (1st).
Notable: Had two wins in three starts in 2023 at Parx, where his trainer is a member of the track’s racing Hall of Fame.
3 — Catching Freedom (6-1)
Trainer: Brad Cox. Jockey: Flavien Prat.
Career earnings: $1,127,350
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-2-0-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 6-3-0-1
Last three: Kentucky Derby (4th), Louisiana Derby (1st), Risen Star Stakes (3rd).
Notable: Finished two lengths behind the threesome in the photo finish at the Derby. Prat’s only Preakness ride was in 2021 when he won atop Rombauer, who went off at around 12-1.
Note: No. 4 Muth was scratched.
5 — Mystik Dan (5-2)
Trainer: Kenny McPeek. Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Career earnings: $3,741,360
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-2-0-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 7-3-1-1
Last three: Kentucky Derby (1st), Arkansas Derby (3rd), Southwest Stakes (1st).
Notable: McPeek originally was reluctant to run Dan on just two weeks’ rest. Did so in November and the horse had his worst performance, finishing fifth in a claiming race at Churchill Downs.
6 — Seize the Grey (15-1)
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas. Jockey: Jaime Torres.
Career earnings: $619,938
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-2-0-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 9-3-0-3
Last three: Pat Day Mile (1st), Blue Grass Stakes (6th), Jeff Ruby Steaks (sic) (3rd).
Notable: Last raced two weeks ago on the Derby undercard. Pimlico will be the seventh track he’s run on in 10 races.
7 — Just Steel (15-1)
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas. Jockey: Joel Rosario.
Career earnings: $724,545
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 5-0-3-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 12-2-4-1
Last three: Kentucky Derby (17th), Arkansas Derby (2nd), Rebel Stakes (7th).
Notable: Changed jockeys from Keith Asmussen to Joel Rosario after a disappointing trip in the Derby. Lukas, the legendary trainer, expects a better showing. Well, he definitely won’t finish 17th again.
8 — Tuscan Gold (8-1)
Trainer: Chad Brown. Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione.
Career earnings: $147,100
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 2-1-0-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 3-1-0-1
Last three: Louisiana Derby (3rd), Maiden/Gulfstream (1st), Maiden/Aqueduct (4th).
Notable: In six previous Preakness starts, Brown has two wins (Early Voting, 2022; Cloud Computing, 2017) and a second by a head with Blazing Sevens in a thrilling finish last year.
9 — Imagination (6-1)
Trainer: Bob Baffert. Jockey: Frankie Dettori.
Career earnings: $406,800
2024 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-2-2-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 6-2-4-0
Last three: Santa Anita Derby (2nd), San Felipe Stakes (1st), Allowance/Santa Anita (2nd).
Notable: Dangerous horse who finished second by a head to Stronghold his last time out. Baffert has won the Preakness a record eight times, including last year with National Treasure.
Our picks
Ed Barkowitz:
9-Imagination, 3-Catching Freedom, 2-Uncle Heavy, 5-Mystik Dan
Imagination is well-rested and trained by Bob Baffert, the most reliable thing to hit Baltimore since crab cakes and Cal Ripken. Mystik Dan had a near-perfect run, but his trainer’s initial reluctance to commit to the Preakness and its short turnaround is disconcerting.
Kerith Gabriel:
3-Catching Freedom, 9-Imagination, 7-Just Steel, 6-Seize the Grey
I’m not sold that Mystik Dan will win the Triple Crown, but I’ve been big on Catching Freedom. A Bob Baffert-trained horse — like Imagination — is generally a horse in the running. That said, my money is on Catching Freedom. He missed finishing third in the Kentucky Derby by 0.4 seconds and Muth, the other Baffert-trained pony, has been scratched.
Jeff Neiburg:
3-Catching Freedom, 9-Imagination, 5-Mystik Dan, 6-Seize the Grey
Catching Freedom ran a good race at Churchill Downs and finished fourth, just outside that photo finish. Trainer Brad Cox wasn’t going to push him, but the horse, Cox said, is training well and the team decided to give it a go. It’s a good choice, because Catching Freedom will be the biggest beneficiary of the late Muth scratch. As for the others … Imagination has had a really strong last six months, Mystik Dan won the Derby and this field is short, and the aptly named gray horse, Seize the Grey, won a non-Derby race at Churchill and is an enticing number to get on your ticket.
Luke Reasoner:
8-Tuscan Gold, 5-MystikDan, 3-Catching Freedom 7-Just Steel
With the favorite now scratched, let’s go back to cheering on Chad Brown to make a bigger name for himself in the horse racing world. With the Olympic spirit in mind, I’m shooting for the gold, Tuscan Gold to be exact, to win the Preakness. This would be the third time a Brown-trained horse wins in Baltimore after not running in the Kentucky Derby.
Sources: Inquirer research, Equibase.com.
