Bob Baffert wants the lead-up to the $2 million Preakness to be about Kenny McPeek, the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. “He’s the man of the hour and he should be,” said Baffert, while also acknowledging McPeek’s victory in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna. “It’s all about McPeek.” When it comes to the Preakness, however, it’s typically all about Bob. Last year, Baffert won his record eighth Preakness when National Treasure fended off Blazing Sevens to win the middle jewel of the Triple Crown by a head. Baffert will be back for the May 18 Preakness with two runners, Muth and Imagination, as part of what is, as of Monday, a work-in-progress field that may not include the Kentucky Derby winner. Regardless of whether Mystik Dan is in the field, Muth figures to be the Preakness favorite having won the Arkansas Derby in a race where Mystik Dan finished third, beaten 6 1/4 lengths, prior to his nose victory in Saturday’s 150th Kentucky Derby. Imagination, runner-up in the Santa Derby, will likely be second choice. Neither horse could compete in the Kentucky Derby because of the ban placed on Baffert by Churchill Downs due to a medication positive for Betamethasone found in the post-race sample of Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby that led to his disqualification from first. When asked if it was difficult watching a horse Muth beat win the Kentucky Derby, Baffert said, “The Derby’s water under the bridge. We’re talking about Pimlico.” :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  The fact that Baffert has two fresh horses coming into the Preakness while Mystik Dan would have to turn around in two weeks “would matter” to McPeek, who said he won’t be in a hurry to decide whether to run Mystik Dan back in the Preakness. “I think more than anything, I ran him back quick once and it backfired on me,” McPeek said. “He’s got to knock out feed the next several days and you got to know he’s still going to go over there and give his best effort. You don’t want him, quote-unquote, bouncing off the race.We’ll let it play itself out the next few days.” As of Monday, there was only one horse from the Kentucky Derby who is confirmed for the Preakness, and that is 17th-place finisher Just Steel. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said he is planning to run both him and Seize the Grey, winner of Saturday’s Grade 2 Pat Day Mile, in the Preakness, a race Lukas has won six times. In the Derby, Just Steel was part of a three-ply speed duel along with Track Phantom and Fierceness. “We got roughed up leaving there, then we put up 22, 46. That eliminates you right there in those races,” Lukas said. “I don’t know if you can even fathom those fractions and keep going.” Last year, Kentucky Derby winner Mage was the only horse from that race to run back in the Preakness, which drew only eight horses, seven of whom ran after the scratch of First Mission. In 2022, Rich Strike, the upset winner of the Kentucky Derby, purposely skipped the Preakness to await the Belmont Stakes, where he finished sixth. Baffert understands the idea of a trainer with a horse who ran in the Derby needing more time to decide whether to run back in two weeks. He said in the aftermath of the Derby he was intent on skipping the Preakness with at least two horses who ultimately won the race after losing the Kentucky Derby. “I remember when Point Given ran in the Derby and got beat we were all dejected, tired. We couldn’t understand what happened,” Baffert said. “I sent a message to the racing manager, ‘We’re not going to the Preakness, he’s tired.’ He kept the message. By Sunday, I said, ‘We’re going to the Preakness and we’re not only going to the Preakness, we’re going to win the Preakness.’ ” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Point Given, in 2001, won the Preakness by 2 1/4 lengths. “I said the same thing about Lookin At Lucky,” Baffert said of his 2010 Preakness winner, who finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby. “He had the rail, got wiped out, horrible trip.He was zapped for three days. By Monday [before Preakness] I left a message with the owners, ‘We’re going to the Preakness and he won’t get beat.’ A lot can happen in a week.” Baffert said asking a trainer about running in the Preakness the morning after the Derby “is like saying to your wife after she gives birth, ‘Hey, we need to have another kid.’ You got to give them a little more time to think about it.” The non-Derby starters who are being thought of for the Preakness include Copper Tax, winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, a race that awarded a fees-paid berth into the Preakness. Trainer Gary Capuano, who was considering running in Saturday’s Peter Pan at Aqueduct, said Sunday, “I think the door opened a little to the Preakness right now. Everything’s good, he’s doing great, we’re still looking, trying to find the right situation.” Informed Patriot, trained by Steve Asmussen, earned a fees-paid berth into the Preakness by virtue of his win in the Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park on April 20. Asmussen said Informed Patriot is also under consideration for the Texas Derby on May 27 at Lone Star. While Chad Brown isn’t running Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone nor Derby 13th-place finisher Domestic Product back in the Preakness, he is contemplating starting Tuscan Gold, the third-place finisher in the Louisiana Derby. Brown does plan to enter Tuscan Gold in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes. “My initial thought was to definitely go to the Preakness, but I’m also thinking maybe he needs a little more experience and the Peter Pan to the Belmont might suit him,” Brown said of Tuscan Gold, who has made only three starts. “I don’t know if I have enough seasoning in that horse for the Preakness but I’m thinking about it.” Butch Reid, the trainer of Withers winner Uncle Heavy, said the Preakness is on his radar though he is planning to enter in the Peter Pan and take a look how that race comes up. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures One exciting 3-year-old who is not targeting the Preakness is Mindframe, who won a first-level allowance race on the Derby undercard by 7 1/2 lengths. That race, at 1 1/16 miles around two turns, came after a 13 3/4-length maiden score going seven furlongs on March 30. Mindframe, a son of Constitution, earned a 97 Beyer for his win on Derby Day, which followed the 103 he received for his maiden score. Mindframe is owned by Mike Repole and Vinnie and Teresa Viola and is trained by Todd Pletcher. “He handled the two turns really well, which we anticipated he would, but it was still good to see,” said Pletcher, who added that aside from the Preakness, everything’s in play, including potentially the Belmont Stakes on June 8. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.