The Triple Crown is no longer in play.
Seize the Grey won the 149th Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown series run on a wet, muddy Saturday evening at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. The horse just barely fended off a late push from Mystik Dan, who was trying to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since 2018.
Seize the Grey led nearly the entire way on Saturday, and fended off a huge push from Mystik Dan on the final turn. While Mystik Dan looked like he might have the move, Seize the Grey powered through the muddy finish to claim the race and push the Triple Crown hopes off for another year.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan pursued the Triple Crown as the popular pick (5–2 on the Morning Line), though trainer Kenny McPeek was initially concerned about competing again on a short turnaround. Catching Freedom and Just Steel are the other horses who also raced in this year’s Derby. However, McPeek was confident after checking his horse’s airway and bloodwork.
Previous favorite Muth was scratched from the race due to a spiking fever. That removed one of the horses handled by legendary trainer Bob Baffert, who prepared last year’s Preakness winner, National Treasure.
However, the eight-time Preakness-winning trainer had another horse in the field with Imagination, who was at 6–1 odds on the Morning Line (along with Catching Freedom) but hadn’t raced in six weeks.
The purse for the 2024 Preakness Stakes is expected to be $2 million, split among the top five finishers with the winner receiving $1.2 million and second-place finisher getting $400,000.
The last Triple Crown winner was Justify in 2018.
Up next in horse racing’s Triple Crown series is the Belmont Stakes, scheduled for June 8 at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. (Belmont Park, which usually hosts the race, is undergoing renovations.)
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
