Latest Vegas Odds for Preakness 2021 After Post Draw

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit drew the No. 3 post for Saturday's Preakness Stakes.

The colt enters as the favorite at 9-5 for the 10-horse field.

Preakness Stakes Lineup

1. Ram (30-1)

2. Keepmeinmind (15-1)

3. Medina Spirit (9-5)

4. Crowded Trade (10-1)

5. Midnight Bourbon (5-1)

6. Rombauer (12-1)

7. France Go de Ina (20-1)

8. Unbridled Honor (15-1)

9. Risk Taking (15-1)

10. Concert Tour (5-2)

Odds courtesy of the Preakness Stakes morning lines

Of course, all eyes are on Medina Spirit after he was flagged for a positive drug test following the Kentucky Derby. The 21 picograms of betamethasone were well above the level allowed by Kentucky racing officials.

Trainer Bob Baffert said Monday on Fox News the situation is "like a cancel culture kind of a thing." He also claimed Medina Spirit's test may have resulted from a groom urinating on some hay in the stall. The hay was then contaminated with betamethasone from a cold medicine the groom had taken.

Baffert then released a statement Tuesday to say he thinks the positive test was due to ointment the three-year-old received for dermatitis:

The Preakness Stakes draw was moved from Monday to Tuesday to allow for more time to consider Medina Spirit's status for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Baffert already confirmed he wouldn't travel for Saturday's race.

"I go to Baltimore to have a good time. It's a fun trip," he told reporters. "I don't want to take away from the horses. I think it'd be a distraction if I went. I think it'd be a distraction if I win. The owners will be there. [Assistant trainer] Jimmy [Barnes] can handle it."

As is occasionally the case, the field at Pimlico Race Course isn't especially deep as owners and trainers turn their focus toward other events on the calendar.

Coming off victories in the San Vicente and Rebel Stakes, Concert Tour was the odds-on favorite to win the Arkansas Derby but labored to a third-place finish. In the event Medina Spirit falls short, a fresh Concert Tour could be another route for Baffert to taste victory at Pimlico.

Likewise, Crowded Trade probably has a chip on his shoulder after a runner-up showing in the Gotham Stakes and a third-place effort in the Wood Memorial.

Fans generally tune into the Preakness Stakes with the hope of watching the Kentucky Derby winner continue a Triple Crown charge. With the controversy around Medina Spirit, schadenfreude could be the overriding emotion from outsiders tuning into the action this weekend.