Creative Minister did not get to the races until March, well after the first Triple Crown nomination deadline in January, when he could have been made eligible for just $600. That debut, in which he finished second, came only three weeks before a second Triple Crown deadline, for $6,000. As he was still a maiden, with one start to his credit, that a sprint, there seemingly was no need to make him eligible then, too. But over the past few weeks, Creative Minister has progressed in rapid order. In his second start, and first try going two turns, he beat maidens at Keeneland, and on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 7 at Churchill Downs, he beat a first-level allowance field, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 92. :: Get Preakness Betting Strategies by for exclusive wagering insight, contender analysis, and more All that convinced his trainer, Kenny McPeek, and owners, Paul Fireman and Greg Back, that is was worth paying a hefty $150,000 supplemental fee to make Creative Minister eligible to the last two legs of the Triple Crown, beginning with the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico. “He jumped through a couple of hoops really easily,” McPeek said in a telephone interview from Kentucky on Monday. “We’ll see how it plays out. Is it a stretch? Fortunately I’ve got a couple of brave clients who are game. But I’m kicking myself I didn’t make him Triple Crown-nominated.” Told of McPeek’s remarks, Back, laughing, said, “We want to kick him, too.” Back said he’s “excited, thrilled,” to be participating in his first Triple Crown race. “How often do you get to be in a race like this with a chance?” Back said Monday from his home in suburban Houston. “He keeps improving. It’s stiff competition, but we know he wants to beat whoever’s out there.” Creative Minister was part of a field of nine entered on Monday for the Preakness. He will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., who has been aboard Creative Minister for all three of his starts. The Preakness field is headed by Epicenter, the second-place finisher in the Derby, and the filly Secret Oath, who won the Kentucky Oaks the day before the Derby. Simplification, fourth in the Derby, and Happy Jack, 14th, are the only other horses who ran in the Derby coming back in the Preakness. Newcomers to the Triple Crown trail include Armagnac, Early Voting, Fenwick, and Skippylongstocking. Creative Minister, a gray colt by Creative Cause out of the Tapit mare Tamboz, was purchased as a yearling for $180,000 by Fireman, 78, who races as Fern Circle Stables, and Back, 67. He had four workouts early in his 2-year-old campaign, through May 12, 2021, then had four months off before beginning another work pattern on Sept. 14. That series again lasted a mere four breezes before another gap. “He’s a horse that as a 2-year-old just didn’t come around,” McPeek said. “He’s a good-sized horse. Had a little of this, a little of that. Nothing major, just wasn’t ready as a 2-year-old.” Creative Minister returned to the work tab this year Jan. 22 at Gulfstream Park, where McPeek is based during the winter, and this time he advanced with nary a hiccup, finally debuting in a Gulfstream maiden sprint March 5, on the same card on which Simplification won the Fountain of Youth. “We always thought he was a really nice horse, but we didn’t make him Triple Crown-nominated because he didn’t start until March,” McPeek said. :: Get ready for the Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies! In his most recent start, Creative Minister rallied from seventh of 11 to win by 2 3/4 lengths going 1 1/16 miles. He gets another furlong with which to work in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, and even more real estate in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont three weeks later. McPeek, 59, has won both the Preakness, with the filly Swiss Skydiver in 2020, and Belmont, with Sarava in 2002. “Anytime you win a classic it’s great,” McPeek said, calling the win with Swiss Skydiver, who beat Derby winner Authentic, “pretty magical.” He’ll try to conjure more magic on Saturday with Creative Minister.