Drawing the dreaded rail post in the cavalry charge that is the Kentucky Derby is a daunting prospect for more reasons than are obvious at first glance. That became apparent to Lookin At Lee, who began the May 6 Derby from post 1, and his trainer, Steve Asmussen.

BALTIMORE – Gunnevera tacked a three-furlong open gallop onto the end of his Wednesday morning gallop at Pimlico in his final serious work for the 142nd Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

Gunnevera, the Fountain of Youth winner and seventh in the Kentucky Derby, came onto the track from the gap at the three-sixteenths pole at 6 a.m. and backtracked around the track to the finish line. He then galloped a leisurely 1 1/8 miles under 145-pound exercise rider Victor O’Farell before quickening his pace from the seven-eighths pole to the half-mile pole.

In 1999, Charismatic upset the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. Three years later, War Emblem posted a front-running score in the Illinois Derby at Sportsman’s Park. Both colts went on to capture the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, earning divisional titles – and in Charismatic’s case, Horse of the Year honors.

BALTIMORE – The two-day wager linking the Black-Eyed Susan on Friday with the Preakness on Saturday is among the many exotic wagers being offered here this weekend. The double carries a $1 minimum.

According to charts maintained by Pimlico, the first year for the two-day wager was 2003, when the Pimlico Special was the first leg in the double (over the years, the track has used both the Black-Eyed Susan and Pimlico Special as the lead-in race). Last year, $748,964 was handled on the two-day double, which returned $20.80 for a $2 bet on Go Maggie Go and Exaggerator.

BALTIMORE – Given that he has so many owners, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Always Dreaming competing under a different set of jockey’s silks every time he runs.

But the pale yellow-green silks of MeB Stables will continue to be the only ones the colt carries.

BALTIMORE – Leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Hence was something of a “wise guy” horse, which made his trainer, Steve Asmussen, cringe. The trainer is a big believer in the Mush factor, a reference to Eddie Mush, a racetrack degenerate in the 1993 movie “A Bronx Tale.”

Mush – gullible and colorful but mostly just obnoxious – was the personification of bad luck at the track. As the legend goes, the real-life Eddie Montanaro got his nickname because everything he touched turned to mush.

“You never want the Mushes on your bandwagon,” Asmussen said with a laugh.

BALTIMORE – Until Exaggerator won last year, it had been 23 years since the second-place Derby finisher had won the Preakness. In fact, before then, only two Derby runners-up since 1960 had won, Summer Squall (1990) and Prairie Bayou (1993).

Lookin At Lee, second to Always Dreaming in the Derby when dismissed at 33-1, will try to make it two in a row.

BALTIMORE – Ten years later, the excitement of the Preakness still resonates with Steve Asmussen.

It was on May 20, 2007, that Curlin, trained by Asmussen, ranged up alongside Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense deep in the Pimlico stretch before poking his chestnut head in front just before the wire. On the video replay, the win margin is barely discernible.

The Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes at Saratoga has been renamed the H. Allen Jerkens, honoring the iconic Hall of Fame trainer who died in 2015, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday.

The King’s Bishop, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds, will be run Aug. 26 on the same card as the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes. The 40-day Saratoga meet runs from July 21-Sept. 4.

BALTIMORE -- The champion may have been knocked down a couple of times this season, but he’s coming back for more.

Classic Empire, the 2-year-old champion of 2016, has had a star-crossed 3-year-old campaign. He managed to win the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby after a roller-coaster winter and spring. Following a difficult trip when fourth to Always Dreaming in the Kentucky Derby on May 6, Classic Empire will be one of nine expected challengers to face Always Dreaming in the Preakness.