Messages, odds for Saturday at Pimlico

The last time a Kentucky Derby winner showed up to have another favored horse in the Preakness issues that was 12 years ago. That’s when I’ll Have Another pulled off a 15-1 upset at Churchill Downs, and Bob Baffert arrived at Pimlico two weeks later with the oddsmakers’ pick in Derby runner-up Bodemeister .

History should repeat itself this week. Muthwho won the freshman Arkansas Derby, became the 8-5 morning line favorite, and Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan received a 5-2 program odds for what could be a wet race of the 149th Preakness Stakes.

Video: Watch Mystik Dan take his first jog around Pimlico.

The top two picks were drawn next to each other Monday night with Muth in 4th and Mystik Dan in 5th. They were among nine 3-year-old colts who signed up to race for $2 million in purse money Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

“I thought it was perfect. Right next to Muth. Perfect,” said Mystik Dan’s trainer Kenny McPeek at the Maryland Jockey Club.

The March 30 Arkansas Derby was the only previous meeting between Muth and Mystik Dan, who finished third that day.

“Hopefully we come out of there clean and get a little better trip than last time,” said McPeek, who asked Brian Hernandez Jr. to continue riding Mystik Dan. “I think the playing field is very level. I think we could walk right behind (Muth) or get away from him. We leave that to Brian. He knows the horse very well.

Just Steel, who finished second in the Arkansas Derby, will also compete in the Preakness after finishing 17th in the Kentucky Derby. Coached by 88-year-old six-time Preakness winner D. Wayne Lukas, he was assigned the No. 7 position at 15-1 odds.

Catching Freedom, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, and Seize the Grey, Just Steel’s stablemate who won the Pat Day Mile (G2), also return after running two weeks ago at Churchill Downs. Catching Freedom came in third and was given a 6-1 program rating by Morning Line Editor Brian Nadeau. Seize the Gray went 15-1 after securing post 6.

Muth and his stablemate Imagination, a runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), arrive fresh for the Preakness. They were ineligible to compete in the Kentucky Derby due to Baffert’s suspension Churchill Downs gave him for Medina Spirit’s failed drug test starting in 2021. Imagination drew the widest pole and was installed at 6-1 on the morning line.

“I think it’s okay. Nine horses. It’s manageable,” Baffert told MJC from his home base in California. “It’s a very competitive field. I would have liked to get a little closer to Imagination. Either way, he can take a trip.

The favorite has won 73 of the first 149 times in the Preakness, split into two divisions in 1918. However, that hasn’t happened since Justify prevailed in a hazy 2018 revival on his road to the Triple Crown.

By the way, the last time the Derby winner was a Preakness underdog, I’ll Have Another at 3-1 won again against Bodemeister at 8-5.

“At the end of the day, Mystik Dan is going to have a lot of support,” Baffert said. “Just being there with two good horses, for me, with a competitive field, it’s going to be a good race.”

The National Weather Service’s forecast for a rainy week was updated to indicate more optimism for a dry Preakness, particularly a 50 percent chance of showers Saturday with temperatures near 78 degrees.

Post time for the Preakness, the 13th of 14 races at Pimlico, is Saturday at 6:58 p.m. EDT, according to a Maryland Jockey Club spokesperson.