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Preakness 2021 Post Positions: Draw Start Time, Horses Lineup and More
May 10, 2021
Will Medina Spirit follow his Kentucky Derby win with a victory at the Preakness Stakes? Well, there's a chance the colt won't even be the Derby champion when he's racing at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday—if he's racing at all.
Longtime trainer Bob Baffert announced in a Sunday morning press conference that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone. Churchill Downs announced that if those findings are upheld, Medina Spirit will be disqualified, making Mandaloun the Kentucky Derby winner.
Mandaloun isn't racing the Preakness, so if that happens, there won't be a Triple Crown champion in 2021.
However, Baffert, who was suspended from racing horses at Churchill Downs, stated that he still plans for Medina Spirit to compete in the Preakness. The Maryland Jockey Club released a statement indicating that it's reviewing Medina Spirit's status for the race.
As this uncertainty looms, here's everything else you need to know heading into Preakness week.
Preakness Post Draw
Date: Tuesday, May 11
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Live Stream: Facebook.com/Preakness
Odds for Potential Contenders
Medina Spirit 7-2
Concert Tour 9-1
Midnight Bourbon 15-1
Crowded Trade 16-1
Unbridled Honor 18-1
Ram 18-1
France Go de Ina 20-1
Rombauer 20-1
Odds via SportsLine.
Medina Spirit has been the early betting favorite for the Preakness, but perhaps that could change based on how things develop during race week. He had a dominant showing at the Kentucky Derby, leading from wire to wire, but that victory could soon be taken away from him.
As of now, Medina Spirit isn't the only Baffert-trained horse that is set to take part in the Preakness. Concert Tour, who didn't race the Kentucky Derby, had been held back in order to compete at Pimlico this weekend.
Both of Baffert's horses have been training at Churchill Downs and had been expected to leave for Pimlico on Monday.
Concert Tour has only been entered in four races, and he won each of the first three. His most recent race was the Arkansas Derby on April 10, in which he finished third.
"He's been training really well [at Churchill Downs]. I'm happy with the way he went," Baffert said, per Marty McGee of Daily Racing Form.
Midnight Bourbon has the best Preakness odds of any horse not trained by Baffert. After finishing third or better in each of his first seven career races, Midnight Bourbon placed sixth at the Kentucky Derby.
Steve Asmussen, who is Midnight Bourbon's trainer, is a two-time winner at the Preakness. He notched victories in the race with Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra (2009). Now, he'll look for similar results with Midnight Bourbon, who could be poised for a better showing than he had at the Kentucky Derby.
"The horse is doing great," assistant trainer Scott Blasi said, per the Paulick Report. "I don't think he did a lot of running early [in the Derby], so he seems to have come out of the race pretty fresh."
Trainer Brad H. Cox had two of the top four finishers in the Kentucky Derby, as Mandaloun crossed the line second and Essential Quality ended up fourth. However, Cox announced last week that both horses, as well as Caddo Spirit, won't be racing in the Preakness.
"I just feel like it's best for the horse to target some other races later on in the year." Cox said of Mandaloun, per Byron King of BloodHorse.com.
While there aren't many horses who ran the Kentucky Derby also slated to participate in the Preakness, there are some strong colts that could be top contenders at Pimlico.
Crowded Trade is a Chad Brown-trained horse who has finished third or better in each of his first three career races. Unbridled Honor, who is trained by Todd Pletcher, is coming off a second-place finish at the Lexington Stakes last month. And Ram has won each of his past two races and is trained by D. Wayne Lukas, who is seeking a record-tying seventh Preakness victory.