Kentucky Derby winner Mage has been installed as the 8-5 morning line favorite for the Preakness.
HALETHORPE, Maryland. (AP) — Kentucky Derby winner Mage was installed as the 8-5 morning line favorite for the Preakness at the post position draw on Wednesday.
He’s the only horse in the field of nine set to compete in the second race of the Triple Crown two weeks after the Derby. It’s the first Preakness since 1969 with only one Derby horse.
“Everyone has their own agendas for the rest of the year and the schedule, what races they want to run in,” co-owner Ramiro Restrepo said. “All we can really control is our end. The horse is doing great, which is the most important thing. That gave us the green light to run, and whoever they line up against is who we’ve got to race. That’s all we can focus on.”
Mage will face eight fresh horses in an attempt to keep alive the possibility of the first Triple Crown victory since Justify in 2018. He drew the No. 3 post for the 1 3/16-mile, $1.65 million race.
“We’re good,” assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. “I’m pretty content with that. I was more worried about the Derby with a 20-horse field. Nine horses now, I think every horse is going to have a fair shot and hopefully the best one wins. That’s what horse racing is about.”
Mage won the Derby at odds of 15-1 among 18 horses in the race, which came after seven fatalities at Churchill Downs in a 10-day span — including Derby contender Keepmeinmind — raised safety concerns. Five others were scratched for various reasons in the week leading up to the race, including favorite Forte hours before when Kentucky officials had questions about a bruised right front foot.
The Preakness field includes National Treasure, who was ineligible for the Derby because trainer Bob Baffert is serving a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs. Medina Spirit, who failed a postrace drug test in 2021 to prompt the suspension, was Baffert’s last horse in the Preakness, which he has won a record-tying seven times.
National Treasure drew the inside No. 1 post and is the third choice on the morning line at 4-1. First Mission, trained by Brad Cox, drew the outside No. 8 post and has the second-shortest odds at 5-2.
But Mage is the horse to beat.
“It’s going to be hard,” said Kim Salzman Jr., co-owner and trainer of 20-1 long shot Coffeewithchris. “He does come usually from back far. But at Pimlico it’s tricky with the sharper turns, and the lack of speed here in this race seems to be a little in our favor. I’m not saying I’m going to beat him because he is a super horse, but what I like is he has to come back in two weeks with the shipping (from Louisville) and with everything, I’m here waiting and I’m fresh.”
Delgado, who works for his father Gustavo Delgado Sr., wasn’t sure if Mage would have run in the Preakness if not for the Derby win. But he and Restrepo are unconcerned about what-if scenarios and who else is in the race.
“I haven’t paid too much attention to who’s running, who’s not, and this is what happens when you win,” Delgado said. “You don’t worry about the horse and keeping him happy because you know you’ll probably be the favorite, so you focus on your horse. You have to beat them.”
The Derby was the first U.S. Triple Crown win for the elder Delgado, a Hall of Fame trainer in his native Venezuela. Jockey Javier Espinoza is set to ride the colt again after winning the Derby for the first time in his 16th attempt.
Restrepo said he was not worried about the amount of speed in the Preakness and will let Espinoza handle any on-track adjustments.
“I don’t ride the horse,” he said. “I can’t ride a pony, so I’m going to let our Hall of Famer make that call and make those decisions.”
Between National Treasure and Mage, Keepmeinmind drew the No. 2 post and is the longest shot on the board at odds of 50-1. No. 4 is Coffeewithchris, No. 5 is Midnight Bourbon (10-1), No. 6 is Rombauer (15-1), and No. 7 is Blazing Sevens (6-1).
