Bob Baffert will gun for a ninth Preakness Stakes with morning line favorite Muth, given the nod over Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan.
Catching Freedom, a rallying fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, will contest the Preakness, trainer Brad Cox said.
New Jersey-bred Sea Streak won Monmouth Park’s opening day feature and a chance to become the second NJ-bred to win the Haskell later this summer.
Grade 3 Withers winner posted a sharp half-mile workout at his Parx Racing base Saturday in his final move in preparation for the May 18 Preakness.
Kentucky Derby winner galloped Saturday morning and afterwards his trainer, Ken McPeek, said it was on to Baltimore for the Preakness.
Tuscan Gold will aim at the May 18 Preakness, while Kentucky Derby 4th-place horse Catching Freedom also is eyeing the Middle Jewel.
Mystik Dan, trending towards a start in the 149th Preakness Stakes, has been teamed up with Preakness-winning jockey Robbie Albarado as his morning pilot.
Owner-breeder Ellen Charles, whose Post Time is one of the top current Maryland-bred runners, will receive the Special Award of Merit from Pimlico.
Colonial Downs on May 7 unveiled a stakes schedule worth $5.7 million topped by the Grade 1 Arlington Milloin.
The Maryland-sired Mugatu, a Kentucky Derby also-eligible who did not draw in, will point to the Preakness for his next start.