Current:Home > MyPreakness: How to watch, the favorites and what to expect in the second leg of the Triple Crown -MoneyMatrix
Preakness: How to watch, the favorites and what to expect in the second leg of the Triple Crown
Will Sage Astor View
Date:2025-04-07 23:28:30
The Preakness Stakes will have a Triple Crown possibility on the line when Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan runs in a field of eight horses on Saturday in the 149th rendition of the race.
Mystik Dan is the favorite and won the Derby by a nose in the race’s closest finish since 1947. Bob Baffert-trained Imagination and Brad Cox’s Catching Freedom appear to be the most formidable challenges in the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. Muth, who opened as the favorite, was scratched Wednesday because of a fever.
When is the race?
Post time for the Preakness is 7:01 p.m. Eastern on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
What’s the forecast?
Rain showers from the early morning through the afternoon hours Saturday, which could make for a sloppy, muddy track. It’s expected to be about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) when the horses leave the starting gate.
How to watch
Coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. Friday, headlined by the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies just before 6 p.m. (Peacock).
Coverage Saturday starts with undercard races at 1:30 p.m. (CNBC, Peacock). The broadcast shifts to NBC at 4:30 p.m., with NBC Sports Audio (channel 85 on SiriusXM radio and the SiriusXM app). Telemundo Deportes will have Derby coverage in Spanish starting at 6:30 p.m. on Universo, and streaming on TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo app.
What to watch
The Preakness has long been just as much a party as an American classic race. The infield, a scene that varies from Kentucky Derby-esque with fancy dresses, hats and cocktails to a concert stage and food and beer stands, will also have a post-race performance by Jack Harlow.
Who are the favorites?
Muth, who was ineligible to run in the Derby because of Churchill Downs’ ban on Baffert, was installed as the 8-5 favorite but was withdrawn after a 103 degree F (40 degree C) fever this week.
Mystik Dan, initially the 5-2 second choice, figures to become the favorite with Imagination and Catching Freedom, who has been feisty on the track this week, not far behind after each opening at 6-1.
What does the winner get?
The purse was upped this year to $2 million from $1.5 million, with the winner also taking home the Woodlawn Vase.
Go deeper
Horse racing continues to try to find solutions to a spate of deaths that stunned the sport last year, including one trained by Baffert who died at Pimlico hours before National Treasure gave him a record-breaking eighth Preakness victory.
The sport is at a crossroads because of safety questions and with reforms already underway, and Pimlico and Belmont Park are being torn down and rebuilt in the coming years as state-of-the-art facilities. And while racing is trying to adapt to the modern era with smaller tracks, viewership is still strong for the big days, including the biggest TV audience for the Kentucky Derby in 35 years.
Those viewers watching from afar or at Churchill Downs saw jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. deliver a flawless, rail-skimming ride to get Mystik Dan to the finish line just ahead of Sierra Leone and Forever Young. He will look for a second victory in a Triple Crown race back aboard in the Preakness.
This is the final Preakness before a massive, $400 million Pimlico reconstruction project begins early next year. The race will be held in Baltimore again next year in whatever state the track is in before moving to Laurel Park in 2026 with a return to Pimlico scheduled for 2027.
___
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
veryGood! (4457)
Related
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Vermont man who gave state trooper the middle finger and was arrested to receive part of $175,000 settlement
- Supreme Court blocks EPA's good neighbor rule aimed at combating air pollution
- California voters to weigh proposal to ban forced prison labor in state constitution
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Ever feel exhausted by swiping through dating apps? You might be experiencing burnout
- Michael Jackson's son Prince pays tribute on death anniversary, Janet poses with impersonator
- Willie Nelson pulls out of additional performance on Outlaw Music Festival Tour
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Video shows wax Lincoln sculpture melted after 'wild heat' hits DC
Ranking
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Canadian wildfires released more carbon emissions than burning fossil fuels, study shows
- Verizon bolsters wireless, home internet plans, adds streaming video deals and drops new logo
- Iowa leaders want its halted abortion law to go into effect. The state’s high court will rule Friday
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- A 102-year-old Holocaust survivor graces the cover of Vogue Germany
- New law guarantees domestic workers minimum wage in Rhode Island
- Beyond Yoga Sale: The Jumpsuit That Makes Me Look 10 Pounds Slimmer Is 50% Off & More Deals
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
New Hampshire teacher who helped student with abortion gets license restored after filing lawsuit
US shifts assault ship to the Mediterranean to deter risk of Israel-Lebanon conflict escalating
Princess Anne returns home after hospitalization for concussion
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Bachelor Nation's Hannah Ann Sluss Marries NFL Star Jake Funk
Ongoing Spending on Gas Infrastructure Can Worsen Energy Poverty, Impede Energy Transition, Maryland Utility Advocate Says
Bay Area will decide California’s biggest housing bond ever