Seize the Grey led gate to wire, holding off a charge from Mystik Dan to capture the 149th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Over a muddy track, Seize the Grey broke swiftly under jockey Jaime Torres and led the field out to sensible fractions. Seeking to replicate the ride that led Mystik Dan to the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier, jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. had his mount in an early ground-saving position stalking the early pace with Imagination to the outside.
When the field hit the far turn, Seize the Grey moved on the rail, forcing Mystik Dan to his outside. Now having the ground saving position, Seize the Gray opened up a gap, which Mystik Dan failed to close at the head of the stretch. The winning time for the 1 3/16-mile race was 1:56.82.
Mystik Dan finished 2 1/4 lengths back of Seize the Gray. His loss extends the current Triple Crown drought to six years. Catching Freedom finished third.
Seize the Grey’s win made the 88-year-old D. Wayne Lucas the oldest trainer in history to win a Triple Crown race. Conversely, Torres won in his first Triple Crown start.
–By Tim Dwyer. Special to Field Level Media
