Three horses are confirmed as headed to Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes, though the status of Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan remained unclear Tuesday, with no imminent decision expected.
Mystik Dan is scheduled to return to the track Wednesday at Churchill Downs, site of his photo-finish victory Saturday ahead of Sierra Leone and Forever Young in the most-watched Derby in 35 years. Trainer Kenny McPeek has not committed to running Mystik Dan in the Preakness, telling the Maryland Jockey Club that he and owners would let the rest of the week play out before making a decision on the 3-year-old colt.
Entries for the Preakness must be made by Monday, when the post position draw is held.
If Mystik Dan does not run in the Preakness, it will be the fifth time in six years that the race goes on without a true Triple Crown on the line, a combination of Derby circumstances, the pandemic and other factors. McPeek has expressed concern about putting the horse through another two-week turnaround, which did not work out so well in November.
At least one Derby entrant is on track for the Preakness, with Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas bringing 17th-place finisher Just Steel, along with Seize the Grey, who won the Pat Day Mile on the undercard Saturday. Lukas, 88, has won the Preakness six times.
Also going is Mugatu, the last horse left out of the Derby field, with trainer Jeff Engler calling the Preakness a logical spot.
Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert is expected to have a couple of horses in the Preakness after he was unable to run any in the Derby because of the ban on him that Churchill Downs extended for an additional year, based on Medina Spirit’s positive drug test from 2021. Muth, winner of the Arkansas Derby in his most recent start on March 30, could be the Preakness favorite ridden again by Juan Hernandez, while Frankie Dettori is set be aboard Imagination.
Baffert, 71, won his record-breaking eighth Preakness last year with National Treasure, whose victory ended Mage’s chance at a Triple Crown.
The Preakness is May 18. The Belmont Stakes, being run at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York each of the next two years, is June 8.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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