Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan Enters 2024 Preakness Stakes amid Triple Crown Bid
May 11, 2024
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is going to make a run at the Triple Crown.
Kenny McPeek, Mystik Dan's trainer, confirmed on Saturday that the horse will run in the Preakness Stakes.
"All systems go," McPeek told the Maryland Jockey Club. "He'll ship out in the morning (on Sunday)."
McPeek went on to say they were going to do some blood work on Saturday following a routine training session just to be safe, but Mystik Dan is "doing fantastic" one week after his historic win at Churchill Downs:
"We're not changing any routine we do with any other horse anytime. This is what he would have done whether it was a maiden race or a stakes race. ... He won't breeze going into the Preakness if everything goes well. You don't need to breeze. We'll just bring him back off gallops. But he's doing fine."
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, McPeek said he was going to wait before committing the horse to the Preakness because he "ran him back once in two weeks, and it completely backfired on me."
Mystik Dan spent most of the week leading up to the Kentucky Derby as a 20-1 underdog. His odds eventually dropped to 18-1 at post time, but still far behind favorites like Fierceness (5-2) and Sierra Leone (9-2).
In a photo finish, Mystik Dan was able to hold off Sierra Leone and Forever Young to win the Run for the Roses.
This will mark just the second time in Mystik Dan's career that he's run races within two weeks of each other. The first time saw him finish fifth in a one-mile race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25, 13 days after winning a 5.5-furlong event on the same track.
The field for the Preakness is still being determined. An early list of potential entries from Chris Sims and Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier Journal didn't include either Sierra Leone or Forever Young after their close call at the Kentucky Derby.
Tuscan Gold and Imagination could be the top challengers for Mystik Dan if either or both decide to run at Pimlico. Neither horse participated in the Kentucky Derby. Tuscan Gold finished third at the Louisiana Derby. Imagination had a runner-up finish at the Santa Anita Derby.
The 2024 Preakness Stakes will be run on May 18.