Was Scenic Van Ride the Ticket for Mr. Z?

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas was headed to Maryland to race some horses the weekend of May 15-16 and, though he didn't officially know the status of Mr. Z for the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes (gr. I), he thought the colt could use a change of scenery.

The van ride from Kentucky to Maryland involves more than five hours through the hills and mountains of largely rural West Virginia.

"West Virginia—what a beautiful state," Lukas said May 14 during the annual Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course. "We put him in the van. I thought he would enjoy the ride looking around (at the scenery)."

Mr. Z, a winner of $652,226 even though he has only one win from 13 starts, arrived in Baltimore the afternoon of May 12 as a horse with no race. Lukas earlier had said if Mr. Z wasn't entered in the Preakness, he wouldn't run in any race over the weekend.

Then-owner Ahmed Zayat, who was traveling in Europe, said Mr. Z would not be entered in the Preakness. Lukas said he was on the phone with Calumet Farm owner Brad Kelly, who inquired about the status of the 3-year-old Malibu Moon   colt.

"I was talking to (Kelly) and he said, 'If I owned him I would run him.' So now there was this little crack in the door. I said, 'Let me make a phone call.' And 27 calls later, Calumet owned Mr. Z."

The purchase price wasn't disclosed.

Mr. Z is one of eight horses entered in the $1.5 million Preakness. He's 20-1 on the morning line, but can't be accused of not having kept good company. He finished third, a head behind Dortmund, in the Los Alamitos Futurity at 2, and this year finished third behind American Pharoah in the Arkansas Derby (gr. I).

American Pharoah is 4-5 in the Preakness off of his subsequent victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Dortmund, third in the Kentucky Derby, is 7-2. Both are trained by Bob Baffert.

"We can't beat Bob," Lukas said matter-of-factly at the breakfast. "We'll scare the hell out of him for a little ways, but we'll have fun."

"One thing about Wayne is he's tough and never gives up," Baffert said. "Going into the race we all feel we have a chance to win. Everyone says racing needs a Triple Crown winner. What we need is to put on a great show when we come to these races. That's what we need."

Earlier in the morning, Baffert, when asked about the presence of Mr. Z in the Preakness, said: "He's sort of an X-factor."

Baffert, in his assessment of his own chances in the Preakness, said American Pharoah and Dortmund are both showing no signs of wear from the Derby, which he called "a great horse race the last quarter-mile." He said at one point during the race he believed Dortmund would win.

"American Pharoah hadn't had a hard race (before the Derby)," Baffert said. "It was a good, stiff race for him. He has got a really good foundation under him, and he has run on some deep racetracks. He's a very sound and healthy horse. Both of them are."