The Preakness is a little more predictable than the Kentucky Derby.
For the most part, the reasons are simple: The Derby winner plus a few other 3-year-olds he beat in the race and a bunch of new shooters generally narrows the field from 20 to 10.
Seize The Grey. MJC Photo
The first of two runners in the race for trainer Lukas, a six-time Preakness winner. Seize the Grey captured the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard and seems better suited to that distance. This is a reach on both class and distance.
Pressed a red-hot pace in the Derby and paid the price by fading to 17th. This is the second Lukas-trained runner in the race. He should again be part of the early mix, but it’s hard to envision him hanging in there at the end.
This is only the fourth start for a colt with the least experience in the race, and the one who might have the biggest upside potential. It will be interesting to see if he can deliver on that promise in this high-profile spotlight. He was a solid third last time out in the Louisiana Derby, his stakes debut for trainer Chad Brown.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert hedged his bets by bringing Imagination to Baltimore along with Muth. Imagination missed by only a neck in the Santa Anita Derby, proving he’s a legitimate player. Although Baffert lost his top gun, the silver-haired conditioner is well positioned to extend his Preakness record to nine wins in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. Baffert would love to score a win here after Churchill Downs extended his ban, denying his horses a shot at the Kentucky Derby.