When does Preakness 2024 kick off? Mystik Dan aims to capture a second Triple Crown
The primary rivals for Mystik Dan
are the Bob Baffert-trained Imagination, Brad Cox's Catching Freedom, and Chad
Brown's Tuscan Gold. Additionally, the Preakness may be held on a sloppy
course.
Hours before Kentucky Derby champion
Mystik Dan attempts to win the Triple Crown again in a row when he faces up
against seven other horses in the Preakness Stakes, rain was falling at Pimlico
Race Course on Saturday.
Since Justify in 2018, he would be the first person to win the Derby and the
Preakness simultaneously. That would prepare the audience for a unique and
historic event in the Belmont Stakes next month, where a Triple Crown would be
at stake.
The primary contenders for Mystik Dan are the Bob Baffert-trained Imagination,
Brad Cox's Catching Freedom, and Chad Brown's Tuscan Gold. The Preakness may be
held on a sloppy track due to the likelihood of afternoon rainfall.
What time does Preakness 2024 start?
The game starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, and it can be
streamed on Peacock. The post time is at 6:50 p.m. ET.
The race was scheduled to start soon after 7 p.m. EDT, and Baffert was supposed
to saddle two horses. However, morning line favorite Muth was scratched during
the week due to a fever. On Saturday, Mystik Dan was the 3-1 favorite, followed
by Tuscan Gold and Catching Freedom, who were all 7-2, and Imagination, who was
9-2.
Mystik Dan's trainer, Kenny McPeek, stated this week that "Catching Freedom trained really well going into the Derby." "What a lovely horse he is. Additionally, Bob wouldn't send a horse unless it was a good one, and Chad has a horse who just finished third in the Louisiana Derby behind victor Catching Freedom. Indeed, it isn't a given.
McPeek's decision to send Mystik Dan
to Baltimore on a two-week rest following the colt's grueling victory by a nose
in the Kentucky Derby was far from certain. However, he is one of three
horses—up from one last year and two in 2022—from that race that will compete
in the Preakness.
The middle jewel's reputation has come under scrutiny due to trainers'
reluctance to enter horses in the Derby-Preakness double, which was originally
the standard for horses competing in the Triple Crown. This has led to worries
that the middle jewel has become the unwelcome stepchild of the series. There
is discussion about separating the races in order to accommodate thoroughbreds
that run less frequently now than they did in the past.
The deteriorating Pimlico Race
Course will host its final Preakness this year; early in the next year,
destruction is scheduled to start. The 150th running of the race will still
happen at the track in 2025 while redevelopment is ongoing. In 2026, it will
move to Laurel Park, and in 2027, it will return to a reconstructed Pimlico.
When is the Belmont Stakes and
where?
Due to renovations at Belmont Park
in New York City, the Triple Crown's final leg will take place for the first
time on June 8 at the Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.
Given that construction is anticipated to continue until 2025, there's a strong
possibility that Saratoga may host the Belmont twice in a row.
Aqueduct in Queens is the current venue for racing in New York; it hosted the
Triple Crown final when Belmont Park was last refurbished in 1963–1967.