Preakness Stakes 2024 Favorite Muth Scratched from Field After Illness, Fever

The 2024 Preakness Stakes is just a few days away, but the Triple Crown race took a significant hit on Wednesday.

Longtime trainer Bob Baffert confirmed to journalist J.J. Hysell that Preakness favorite Muth has been scratched from Saturday's event after spiking a fever of 103.

"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."

Per ESPN, Muth opened as an 8-5 favorite when the post-position draw was revealed on Monday. Muth was set to be one of two Baffert-trained horses running in the Preakness, with Imagine still expected to be a part of what is now an eight-horse field.

Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan now has the best odds to win the Preakness at 5-2. Imagine and Catching Freedom are tied for second at 6-1.

"It takes a lot out of the equation," Ray Bryner, the assistant trainer for Mystik Dan, said after Muth was scratched. "We don't have to worry about him, so there's eight horses now and we can kind of run our race and not worry about chasing the horse they call the favorite."

Mystik Dan had fallen short against Muth in the Arkansas Derby on March 30, placing third.

"I was confident we were going to get revenge," Bryner said.

Muth was not allowed to run the Kentucky Derby due to Churchill Downs' ban on Baffert entering any horses in the race. Mystik Dan won the first leg of the Triple Crown in the closest finish since 1947. Without Muth in the field on Saturday, the Mystik Dan team is confident in its chances to continue marching toward a Triple Crown.

"I'm sure there's a lot of disappointed people on that end of it," Bryner said. "I'm not disappointed, I have to be honest. With him out of the race, it makes us pretty strong. Especially if we get the off (muddy) track like he's shown he can already handle, I think we're in pretty good shape."