'All systems go': Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan will run in the Preakness Stakes
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan will run in the Preakness Stakes to continue his pursuit of the Triple Crown, his trainer announced Saturday.
"All systems go," trainer Kenny McPeek said. "The horse is doing fantastic."
The Preakness Stakes is scheduled for Saturday, May 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
McPeek said he consulted with the horse's owners because of the short turnaround between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.
Mystik Dan won a thrilling Kentucky Derby, beating Sierra Leone and Forever Young after securing a spot on the rail to win the 1 ¼-mile race. Officials had to go to photos to determine the winner.
The Preakness recently upped the incentives for horses to run in the race, increasing the purse to $2 million from $1.5 million in 2023 after last year's Kentucky Derby winner Mage was the only horse to compete in the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
Justify, in 2018, was the last horse to win the Derby and the Preakness and went on to win the Triple Crown weeks later in the Belmont Stakes.