Medina Spirit Lands Post 3 at Preakness Draw

A horse race intended to propel the Triple Crown along but has been overshadowed by the specter of picograms, cancel culture, and split samples and resurrected memories of Dancer's Image and the 1968 Kentucky Derby (G1) finally took shape May 11 as a field of 10 was entered in the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course.

Zedan Racing Stables' Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit  will break from post 3 in the May 15 middle jewel of the Triple Crown, but his status as the victor in the Run for the Roses fell into doubt May 9 when trainer Bob Baffert announced the son of Protonico   had tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone. He was installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite.

Baffert's other Preakness starter, Gary and Mary West's multiple grade 2 winner Concert Tour , landed post 10 at a draw that was pushed back a day in the aftermath of the news about Medina Spirit's positive drug test. He was pegged at 5-2 on the morning line.

Though Churchill Downs has barred Baffert from entering horses, he was allowed to run both horses in the Preakness after reaching an agreement Tuesday with the Maryland Jockey Club and 1/ST Racing for enhanced scrutiny of his horses racing at Pimlico.

Baffert agreed to blood testing, monitoring, and medical record review by the MJC on his two Preakness starters and Beautiful Gift , who will run in the May 14 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2). Blood samples for each horse were drawn Tuesday and the MJC said it will scratch any of the horses should tests reveal an illegal substance.

Baffert initially denied treating Medina Spirit with betamethasone, but then issued a statement Tuesday saying that Medina Spirit had dermatitis on his hind end prior to the Kentucky Derby and was treated with an anti-fungal ointment, Otomax. Baffert said he has been informed that one of the substances in Otomax is betamethasone.

Prior to finding out about the drug violation, Baffert voiced praise for the courage Medina Spirit showed in posting a front-running half-length victory over Mandaloun . It was the third win in six career starts for Zedan Racing Stables' son of Protonico  .

"He's a courageous horse," Baffert said. "He reminds me of Silver Charm (Baffert's 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner). "Whomever is next to him, he's going to beat that horse. "

Ben Glass, the racing manager for Gary and Mary West, said Concert Tour has bounced back after a disappointing third in the April 10 Arkansas Derby (G1), which was his first loss in four career starts.

"He's doing great. He's coming out of his skin," Glass said. "When they suit up for these races, they're all good horses. We just have to hope it's a good day for him and he feels like running."

A son of Street Sense  , Concert Tour did not race in the Kentucky Derby to point for the Preakness with five weeks of rest.

A victory by either horse would give Baffert a record eight Preakness wins.

Trainer Chad Brown originally planned to enter just Crowded Trade  in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, but decided to scratch Risk Taking  from the May 8 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park in order to run Saturday.

Both horses are owned by Seth Klarman of Klaravich Stables. Crowded Trade, a son of More Than Ready  , was third in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2), a race in which Risk Taking, a Medaglia d'Oro   colt, was seventh as the 2-1 favorite.

"They both have to improve quite a bit to run with Bob's two, but I feel that maybe after those two they are in the same group as the others (in the Preakness). It's a huge purse so just to get a piece of it is worth it and, who knows, if something weird happens in the race and our horses really move up and one or both of the favorites falter, I want to be in position to take this race down," Brown said. "They couldn't be doing any better and I feel good about taking a chance with horses sitting on a good race."

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon  rallied from 14th to finish sixth in the Kentucky Derby after he was bumped at the start and failed to show his typical speed.

A son of Tiznow , he won the Lecomte Stakes (G3) and was second in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) for trainer Steve Asmussen.

"Midnight Bourbon was very consistent coming into the Derby," Asmussen said. "He wasn't exactly in position to run his best race that day, by the break, traffic, different reasons."

Whisper Hill Farms' Unbridled Honor  enters the Preakness off a runner-up finish last month in the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3).

Trained by newly minted Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the son of Honor Code   was fourth in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2).

"When he ran second in the Lexington we decided to wait and see how things shape up and how he'd train," said Pletcher, who is searching for his first Preakness win. "He's trained well so we're going to take a shot. There should be a good pace for him and hopefully the race will set up nicely for him. He's a one-run horse so a fast pace will help."

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will bid for a record-tying seventh Preakness win with Christina Baker and William Mack's Ram , a May 1 allowance winner at Churchill Downs.

"I don't have any grandiose ideas that he's going to sweep them off his feet here but he's improved and he's doing very well," Lukas said about the son of American Pharoah  . "He merits a chance."

The field also includes the Japanese entrant Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina , a son of Will Take Charge   who was sixth in the UAE Derby Sponsored by Emirates NBD (G2) in Dubai.

"He will be one of those that you definitely want to put a couple dollars on. Just in case," trainer Hideyuki Mori said. "If he doesn't race, he can't win it. The odds don't matter to us."

John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer , a son of Twirling Candy   who was third in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2), and Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith, and Spendthrift Farm's Keepmeinmind , a Laoban   colt who was seventh in the Kentucky Derby, round out the field.

To date, the only Kentucky Derby winner disqualified for a drug violation is Dancer's Image, who was stripped of his 1968 victory.

Entries: Preakness S. (G1)

Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 15, 2021, Race 13

• Grade I
• 1 3/16m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 3 yo
• 6:47 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Ram (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	126	D. Wayne Lukas	30/1
2	2Keepmeinmind (KY)	David Cohen	126	Robertino Diodoro	15/1
3	3Medina Spirit (FL)	John R. Velazquez	126	Bob Baffert	9/5
4	4Crowded Trade (KY)	Javier Castellano	126	Chad C. Brown	10/1
5	5Midnight Bourbon (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	126	Steven M. Asmussen	5/1
6	6Rombauer (KY)	Flavien Prat	126	Michael W. McCarthy	12/1
7	7France Go de Ina (KY)	Joel Rosario	126	Hideyuki Mori	20/1
8	8Unbridled Honor (KY)	Luis Saez	126	Todd A. Pletcher	15/1
9	9Risk Taking (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	126	Chad C. Brown	15/1
10	10Concert Tour (KY)	Mike E. Smith	126	Bob Baffert	5/2