Yakteen not letting a little fatigue ruin his first Preakness

BALTIMORE – Two weeks after making his first Kentucky Derby walkover as a trainer of record, Tim Yakteen is back for the Preakness Stakes.

He brings in new a face in Armagnac while his Derby starters, Messier and Taiba, rest from their efforts.

"I'm exhausted," Yakteen said. "It's been exciting for the whole team."

Yakteen and Kevin McKathan, both first-time Triple Crown trainers this season, were among those recognized at Pimlico’s traditional Preakness-week Alibi Breakfast, which returned this year after a hiatus due to the pandemic. While there were new faces in the room, there was also a mainstay in Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who ran in – and won – his first Preakness in 1980.

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"They say there are three signs of aging,” Lukas, 86, said when given his turn at the mic. “The first is loss of memory."

The trainer then stared into the camera before proclaiming, straight-faced, he could not remember the other signs, to laughter from the room.

In addition to recognizing the connections of each Preakness entrant, the Alibi Breakfast program presents a number of community and media awards. The United States Postal Service opens a temporary station at Pimlico this week, and recognizes an honorary postmaster each year. This year’s honoree was Horse of the Year Knicks Go, who was bred in Maryland by mother and daughter Angie and Sabrina Moore, who accepted the award.

The Special Award of Merit, presented by the Maryland Jockey Club, recognized Maryland’s Beyond the Wire Thoroughbred aftercare program.

The Old Hilltop Award for media excellence was presented to Joe Clancy of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred and ST Publishing; the David F. Woods Memorial Award for the best Preakness story from the prior year went to Mike MacAdam of the Schenectady Daily Gazette; and the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness photography award went to Patrick Smith of Getty Images.