Preakness favorite Muth excluded from 2nd leg of Triple Crown after fever builds

BALTIMORE– BALTIMORE (AP) — Preakness favorite Muth has been excluded from the race after raising fever, removing a Bob Baffert-trained horse and potentially giving Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan a clearer path in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The Maryland Jockey Club announced Muth’s change in status Wednesday morning, about 12 hours after the horse arrived at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore. Baffert said Muth’s temperature reached 40 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) and the camp had no choice but to scratch him.

“We are sick about this. The horse was doing really well,” Baffert said. “But we have to do what’s right for the horse.”

Muth was one of two horses entered for Baffert, a Hall of Famer and two-time Triple Crown winner who is yet to saddle Imagination as part of what is now a field of eight. Baffert has won the Preakness a record eight times, including last year with National Treasure.

Baffert was not expected to fly until Thursday, although assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes accompanied the horses on their flight to Newark, New Jersey, and the trip to Maryland. Barnes said little outside their stalls on Wednesday, except that Muth and Imagination had not yet come out to the track and had merely walked around the barn since being unloaded.

In Monday’s post-position draw, Muth opened as the 8-5 favorite, with Mystik Dan second at 5-2 and the Brad Cox-trained Imagination and Catching Freedom tied for third at 6-1. Catching Freedom stood out on the track for his courage, but Muth was widely considered the horse to beat, with his running speed making him a greater challenge for Mystik Dan and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.

“That takes a lot out of the equation,” said Ray Bryner, Mystik Dan’s assistant trainer. “We don’t have to worry about him, so there are eight horses now and we can run our race and not worry about chasing the horse they call the favorite. ”

Muth had beaten a field that included Mystik Dan, who finished third, in the March 30 Arkansas Derby. Bryner said he was “confident we would get our revenge” after a difficult trip that day.

That was Muth’s last race because of Baffert’s ban at Churchill Downs, prohibiting him from entering anyone in the Kentucky Derby, won by Mystik Dan by a nose in the closest finish since 1947. Mystik Dan, with experience winning on a sloppy track that the Preakness could continue with rain in the forecast, now figures to become the favorite.

News that Muth was scratched spread quickly through Pimlico, and Bryner had to notify Kenny McPeek because Mystik Dan’s trainer was traveling.

“I’m sure there are a lot of people disappointed in that sense,” Bryner said. “I’m not disappointed, I have to be honest. With him out of the race, it makes us very strong. Especially if we come out of the (cloudy) track like he showed he can handle, I think we’re in really good shape.”

The last horse to win the Derby and Preakness was Baffert’s Justify in 2018 on his way to the Triple Crown, the 13th in the sport’s history. A victory for Mystik Dan on Saturday would create an unprecedented opportunity with a Triple Crown on the line in the Belmont Stakes, which will be held at historic Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York each of the next two years, while the traditional home of the race on Long Island undergoes reconstruction.

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