Preakness Stakes 2024 highlights: Seize the Grey crowned winner in muddy race

Seize the Grey owner Michael Behrens said that for 15 minutes after his horse won the Preakness, all he could say was, “Are you kidding me?!”

“We had some big expectations, but this exceeds all those expectations. I really don’t have words,” Behrens said. “I really don’t have words.”

“I can’t believe this. This is the race I’ve wanted to win, this is the race I’ve wanted to win for 2,570 people. It’s 100% ours.”

Behrens is an owner, but only one of 2,570 in a group that owns Seize the Grey.

D. Wayne Lukas — again — gets it done.

Two years after entering jockey school, winning Preakness jockey Jaime Torres thanked his family for their support.

Torres, from Puerto Rico, rode Seize the Grey to the Preakness win over favorite Mystik Dan, who finished second.

“Very excited,” Torres said after the win. “Very excited and very thankful to all the people that have been beside me helping me."

"My family, I want to thank them. Because we came — like a lot of people, a lot of jockeys — we came from the bottom. ... To afford flights and all those things, to support me, I know is hard. They still do it because they love me. And I appreciate that a lot,” he said.

He entered at 9-1 odds, outlasting Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan.

Seize the Grey has won the 149th Preakness at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

The 149th Preakness is underway.

1. Mugatu — 16-1

2. Uncle Heavy — 7-1

3. Catching Freedom — 7/2

4. Muth (scratched)

5. Mystik Dan — 5/2

6. Seize the Grey — 9-1

7. Just Steel — 9-1

8. Tuscan Gold — 4-1

9. Imagination — 4-1

Ray Lewis stayed in his Baltimore Ravens character, calling riders up and then breaking into the dance that he performed to lead his team's fearsome defense.

I don't see him as a contender at the 149th Preakness Stakes, but his 20-1 odds make him an intriguing long-shot play.

The horses and jockeys are making their way to the gate. The race is moments away.

According to NBC Sports' Nathan Ackerman:

Brian Hernandez Jr., from Layafette, La., has one Triple Crown win — the 2024 Kentucky Derby, of course. He’s had four attempts in the Preakness. He gained widespread praise for his masterful rail-skimming technique at Churchill Downs a couple weeks ago, helping him become the first jockey since 2009 (and eighth all time) to win the Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the same year.

“Brian’s amazing,” McPeek said after the Derby win. “Probably one of the most underrated riders in racing. But not anymore.”

When I picked Just Steel in the Derby, I acknowledged that my track record was poor and that I was listening to my heart more than my head. The story of a resurgent 88-year-old D. Wayne Lukas, his career unexpectedly rejuvenated with a bundle of talented additions to his barn, resonates powerfully with me. 

But you see what that got me. 

So this time, I’ll go with my head. A modest pace seems likely, so I’d like a horse who won’t be too far from the front. A stalker type that has shown an ability to sit just off the pace and then turn it on as they turn for home appeals to me. I’d also like it to be a horse that has put up strong speed figures. And a jockey who has enjoyed Triple Crown success would be a plus, too. Oh, and of course, I’m also looking for a price.

By God, I’ve done it again. I’ve talked myself into D. Wayne Lukas and Just Steel.

NBC Sports' Nathan Ackerman breaks it down:

Mystik Dan’s trainer is Ken McPeek, who became the fourth trainer ever to win the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby in the same year, when Thorpedo Anna won the former and Mystik Dan the latter. McPeek is the first trainer to win both in the same year since 1952.

The Derby win completed the career Triple Crown for McPeek, whose Swiss Skydiver won the Preakness in 2020. McPeek has won each Triple Crown race exactly once.

The Bob Baffert-trained Muth was scratched before the Preakness after running a fever before travel. Here's why Mystik Dan, Imagination and Tuscan Gold are the beneficiaries.

The trend of trainers’ refusing to run horses on short rest is embodied by Brad Cox. In the past five years, as of this writing, his horses have made a total of 4,741 starts in races across the country. How many of those starts came two weeks or less after the previous ones? Just 60.

Not surprisingly, then, none of the nine Derby horses Cox fielded before this year ever attempted the two-week turnaround in Baltimore. But in a decision that has caught many off guard, he’s going for it Saturday with Catching Freedom, the fourth-place Derby finisher.

And, rare as it is, when Cox does send out horses on short rest like that, his stats are eye-catching. Of the 60 he has run on two weeks’ (or less) rest, an impressive 16 (27%) have won. And if we set exact parameters similar to the Preakness — races at distances run on dirt with short rest — Cox is one-for-one, with Tawny Port winning (at 5-1) the 2022 Lexington Stakes exactly two weeks after a run in the Blue Grass Stakes.

Here's why I like his long-shot odds to win the Preakness Stakes after topping the field in the Pat Day Mile two weeks ago.

Mystik Dan owner Lance Gasaway’s thoughts were with his father, Clint, the man who got his son into horse racing, who died one year ago.

“You know, it’s like, this is for him now,” Lance Gasaway said. “This is his last run with Mystik Dan.”

Mystik Dan is a favorite to win today’s Preakness.

Clint Gasaway died at his home in Gould, Arkansas, on May 4, 2023, at the age of 85.

Mystik Dan won this year's Kentucky Derby, which was held exactly one year to the day after Clint Gasaway died.

Balnikhov slogged through the wet grass and pulled away to win the Dinner Party Stakes, the top undercard contest ahead of the 13th race at Pimlico, the Preakness.

Jockey Frankie Dettori bided his time before hitting the Irish import's accelerator down the stretch to outduel Crabs N Beer and Running Bee.

The $500,000 Dinner Party is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in America and was first run in 1870 on the opening day of brand-new Pimlico Race Course.

That inaugural race was won by the famed colt Preakness, whose tragic death in 1881 led this classic American race to be named in his honor.

When it comes to the Derby winner, here’s the picture that emerges:   

• 23 of 25 Kentucky Derby winners ran in the Preakness.
• 18 of them finished in the top three.
• 10 of them won.

That’s 10 wins from the last 23 Derby winners who contested the Preakness — a hit rate of 43%. And it makes sense. The Preakness is a far more compact and much less chaotic race than a 20-horse Derby donnybrook. And especially in recent years, as trainers have shied away from running horses on short rest, many of the most talented Derby also-rans have simply skipped this race.

On Saturday, besides Mystik Dan, only two Derby alums will compete: fourth-place finisher Catching Freedom and 17th-place Just Steel.

Mystik Dan, of course, isn’t an ordinary Derby champ. He was a long shot, winning at 18-1 odds. That creates skepticism. Was it a fluke? A product of that flawless, rail-skimming trip that jockey Brian Hernandez worked out? That’s why it was Muth, not Mystik Dan, who was initially tabbed as the favorite.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore celebrated today’s Preakness by looking to the future — generations into the future.

The state recently passed legislation to transfer ownership of Pimlico Race Course from the Stronach Group to the state of Maryland.

The deal also includes what is being called full renovations of Pimlico facilities, as well as a $10 million investment in the Park Heights community where it sits.

“We just signed a landmark piece of legislation, a generational piece of legislation, that is going to keep the Preakness here in Baltimore for generations to come,” Moore said in a video today on X.

Next year, the 150th, is expected to be held at Pimlico. Some years after that it will be held at Laurel Park racetrack while constriction is underway at Pimlico, the governor’s office said. The state will lease that track for three years for $1 each.

The Pimlico Race Course first opened in 1870, and it is the second oldest racetrack in the nation. The Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, opened six years earlier, in 1864.

There has already been rain in Baltimore this week, and Saturday’s forecast is unsettled. The potential for wet weather raises the potential for a wet track — a significant variable.

Long shot Uncle Heavy is notable for his unblemished wet track record. Both of Seize the Grey’s wet surface journeys, meanwhile, came at shorter distances — a pair of sprint races last summer. (He did, for what it’s worth, show unusual aggression in a win over the slop last summer, charging to the lead and holding on for dear life against a quality field.)

It’s Mystik Dan who stands out the most, though. He romped in the mud in February’s Southwest Stakes, crushing Just Steel by eight lengths, with jockey Brian Hernandez employing the same rail-hugging tactics we saw two weeks ago in Louisville. Maybe it was that rail trip, not the muddy surface, that made the difference in the Southwest for Mystik Dan. But at the very least we can say he doesn’t mind the mud one bit. 

Moments after video played of Imagination jockey Frankie Dettori praising England’s Arsenal Football Club in the last part of the Premier League season, his horse sent a different message.

“Hey guys, I wish you all the best in the last game of the season. You’ve been fantastic,” Dettori said, draped in an Arsenal scarf. “All the best and go out with a win.”

But Imagination nuzzled against a red Arsenal flag pinned up next to his pen, then bit the lower corner and pulled it down.

“And Dettori’s horse, Imagination, apparently not on the same side as his jockey,” NBC’s Mike Tirico quipped.

Grooms All Bizness navigated the wet grass and stormed to victory in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint.

Jockey Jorge Ruiz's gelding broke out of the No. 1 spot but needed to find space in the middle of the track down the stretch for the come-from-behind win.

The 5-2 favorite, Beer Can Man, finished fifth in the $100,000 race.

Imagination last ran April 6 in the Santa Anita Derby, meaning he’ll be running after a six-week break. Three other horses could benefit from similar rest: Mugatu and Uncle Heavy haven’t run since April 6, and Tuscan Gold hasn’t since March 23.

All three horses, though, didn’t fare well enough in qualifying races to make the Derby field — Imagination did (again, he was kept out simply because of the Baffert ban).

Favored Corporate Power put his nose in front of Gould’s Gold in a thrilling finish to the Sir Barton Stakes, a Preakness undercard race.

Corporate Power's triumph survived a steward's inquiry in light of bumping down the stretch between the winner and place finisher Imperial Gun.

Place finisher Gould’s Gold was ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and trained by Kenny McPeek, the combo that guided Mystik Dan to win the Kentucky Derby by a nose two weeks ago.

The 1 1/16-mile $100,000 race is named after the first Triple Crown winner in 1919.

NBC Sports' Nathan Ackerman breaks it all down:

Mystik Dan is owned by Lance Gasaway and the 4G Racing team of Brent Gasaway (Lance’s cousin) and Brent’s wife, Sharilyn. He’s also owned by Daniel Hamby III and his brother, Scott Hamby of Valley View Farm.

“To me, this is for him,” Lance Gasaway said after the Derby, which took place exactly one year after his father, Clint, died. “He loved the game. He and I bought horses together. ... I’m just so happy for my family. I had all my family here. It’s just a special day.”

Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer, has been the missing man in Louisville for three years now thanks to a ban Kentucky Derby officials imposed after Medina Spirit’s medicine violation in 2021.

But he’s welcome in Baltimore, and initially he was set to have two horses in this Preakness: Muth and Imagination. Each would have easily qualified to run in the Derby if not for Baffert’s suspension.

But Muth’s scratch from the Preakness leaves Imagination as the sole Baffert entrant. He’s just 3-1 on the revised morning line and a major contender. In a race that looks light on pace, he may be able to shoot straight to the lead, try to slow the pace down and last until the finish line. It’s a favorite Baffert tactic. His last three Preakness winners — including National Treasure just last year — all won in gate-to-wire fashion.

Baffert himself commands respect on this stage. He’s the only living trainer to claim the Triple Crown (two of them, actually), he has won an all-time record 17 Triple Crown races, and he’s the most successful Preakness trainer ever, having taken this race eight times. And just like he did last year, he has come to Baltimore intent on making a statement.

Preakness favorite Muth has been ruled out of the race after spiking a fever, removing a horse trained by Bob Baffert and potentially giving Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan a clearer path through the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The Maryland Jockey Club announced Muth’s status change Wednesday morning, roughly 12 hours after the horse arrived at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Baffert said Muth’s temperature reached 103 degrees and the camp had no choice but to scratch him. A horse’s body temperature should be at or less than 101.5 degrees.

“We are sick about this. The horse had been doing really well,” Baffert said. “But we have to do what’s right by the horse.”

There have been 13 horse racing Triple Crown winners.

• Sir Barton, 1919
• Gallant Fox, 1930
• Omaha, 1935
• War Admiral, 1937
• Whirlaway, 1941
• Count Fleet, 1943
• Assault, 1946
• Citation, 1948
• Secretariat, 1973
• Seattle Slew, 1977
• Affirmed, 1978
• American Pharoah, 2015
• Justify, 2018

Distance: 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs)

Total prize pot for winners: $2 million

Weather forecast: 74 degrees but a 40% chance of showers