Factor This ran too good to lose last time, and well enough to win in his four starts prior. With better luck, he might be going for his sixth straight victory on Saturday in the Grade 2, $250,000 Dinner Party Stakes at Pimlico, but instead he’ll try to start a new streak, and he’ll be favored to succeed. The Dinner Party – a 1 1/16-mile grass race for older runners that annually supports the Preakness Stakes card, drew seven runners. They are middle-distance specialists – without the staying power to run in the 1 1/2-mile Joe Hirsch at Belmont, or the turn of foot for the Shadwell Mile at Keeneland, both also Saturday – who are probably a notch below that Grade 1 company. Factor This, however, comes off a sensational performance at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5 in the Grade 1 Turf Classic, the 1 1/8-mile race that preceded the Kentucky Derby. He was hounded through a strong tempo of 47.17 seconds for a half-mile, and in a race where the flow favored the late runners, he gave way grudgingly in the closing yards to finish second, just three-quarters of a length behind Digital Age. “He didn’t get a breather down the backside,” said his trainer, Brad Cox. “He held on well. It was a big effort.” Factor This trains at Churchill Downs, so the van ride down I-64 for the Shadwell Mile would have been easier logistically, but the distance of that race, and level of competition, made the Dinner Party more attractive. :: Get DRF Betting Strategies for Pimlico’s Preakness Day card “We were looking at the Shadwell Mile, as well as this, and just think that a mile and a sixteenth suits him better,” Cox said. “A mile and a sixteenth, a mile and an eighth, there’s more opportunity for him to establish a clear lead than being used going a mile.” Factor This won the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Handicap and Grade 2 Muniz Memorial at Fair Grounds earlier this year, then kept his win streak going with victories in the Grade 2 Wise Dan at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup at Ellis Park, at distances ranging from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/4 miles, on ground ranging from firm to soft. He is even-money on the track morning line. Factor This could be impacted by the tactics employed by Somelikeithotbrown, who was rated off Factor This in the Turf Classic and faded to finish ninth of 10. In his two prior starts – a third in the Fort Marcy at Belmont and a victory in Bernard Baruch at Saratoga, both Grade 2 races – he was on the front end. Considering the last result, being drawn inside of Factor This on Saturday, and with Paco Lopez taking over, there’s a good chance he returns to tactics that have proven best. Mike Maker, who trains Somelikeithotbrown, also sends out Hembree, whose late kick will benefit if the pace is contested. He is winless in seven starts this year, though, and has seemed more inclined of late to settle for minor awards. Further pace could come from Irish Strait, making the third start of his form cycle following a layoff of more than 13 months. He was fourth most recently in the Grade 3 Red Bank at Monmouth to Analyze It, who figures to be one of the main players in the Shadwell Mile. Graham Motion, who trains Irish Strait, doubles up with True Valour, who tried to go with Factor This in the Turf Classic at Churchill but capitulated after six furlongs. He’s better when he sits and finishes. Doctor Mounty got loose on a soft pace when winning the Henry Clark at Laurel last time out, but won’t get that trip here. O Dionysus, fourth in the Henry Clark, is the only entrant with a win on this course. The Dinner Party, race 6, is returning to its original name after being run as the Dixie for decades. The first Dinner Party, run during Pimlico’s inaugural year in 1870, was won by a horse named Preakness. In 1873, he had a race named for him.