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Can Mystik Dan capture the second leg of the Triple Crown in Baltimore?
The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby delivered a finish for the ages, as Mystik Dan edged out Sierra Leone and Forever Young by a nose in a photo finish. Sierra Leone placed, while Forever Young finished in third.
Can Mystik Dan capture the second leg of the Triple Crown later today at the 149th Preakness Stakes?
The path to accomplishing that goal became a little easier this week as Muth, an early favorite in the field, was scratched on Wednesday. The Bob Baffert-trained Muth was scratched after spiking a temperature of 103 degrees shortly after arriving at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
“We are sick about this,” Baffert said. “The horse had been doing really well. But we have to do what’s right by the horse.”
That may make the path a little easier for Mystik Dan, but trainer Kenny McPeek knows it just adds to the pressure of the moment. “Oh, my goodness,” McPeek said earlier this week. “I guess it puts added pressure on us, but he’s ready.”
The Field
With Muth scratched, Mystic Dan enters the Preakness Stakes today as the favorite. But for McPeek, he believes that the horse, who he describes as an old soul, is ready.
Which makes his job easy.
“He’s a real quiet horse. I’ve used the terminology that he’s an old soul. Nothing much phases him at all, which makes our job really easy,” McPeek told reporters this week. “He’s been in the paddock at Oaklawn before and it’s a similar paddock to Oaklawn. We’re not a complicated outfit, we keep it simple.”
However, the tight finish at Churchill Downs a few weeks ago might pose a problem for Mystik Dan, as the horse was pushed to the limit to win that photo finish. As for who could challenge Mystik Dan later today, Catching Freedom and Imagination were both listed at 6-1, just behind Mystik Dan at 5-2.
Imagination is another Baffert-trained horse, who last raced in the Santa Anita Derby, where he finished second by a neck. “Imagination is filling into his frame,” described Baffert. He is bred to go the [1 3/16-mile] distance. He is a beautifully balanced horse.”
As for Catching Freedom, the Brad Cox-trained horse is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. “It’s just not as common to run these horses back in two weeks as maybe it used to be,” said Cox this week. “It basically comes down to how the horse is doing, and we’re happy with the way he’s training. Based off who we hear is running, he stacks up with that group of horses — bottom line.”
How to Watch
Here are the major details.
When: Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland
TV Network: NBC/CNBC
Streaming: Peacock
NBC Sports will have coverage of the 149th Preakness Stakes throughout the day on Saturday, May 18. Coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET on CNBC and run on that network until 4:30 p.m. ET. Coverage will then shift to NBC at 4:30 p.m. ET, and is expected to run until 7:30 p.m. ET.
Post time for the Preakness is set for 7:01 p.m. ET.
Fans can also stream all of the coverage through Peacock.
Odds
Here are the current post positions following Monday’s draw, along with the latest odds:
