MIDNIGHT BOURBON came into the Kentucky Derby giving every indication he was sitting on a peak effort, having paired up career-best Beyer Speed Figures in the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby while training like a horse ready for yet another forward move. Expected to be forwardly placed coming by the grandstand the first time, Midnight Bourbon was nowhere to be found during the early going, essentially forfeiting all chance right off the bat in light of the way the race played out. He did well to beat 13 others, despite racing wide around both turns.

MEDINA SPIRIT showed his tactical ability when wiring them in the Derby, and it’s unlikely he’ll wind up dueling with his uncoupled stablemate Concert Tour going into the first turn. There’s a chance that Medina Spirit is in control of this Preakness on the backstretch, and he proved in the Derby that he is very tough to catch once he asserts himself up front. He holds a strong speed-figure edge over these and is simply the one to beat, albeit at a low price.

MEDINA SPIRIT probably just is too much for this moderate Preakness bunch – “probably” enough that I can’t quite get to legitimately trying to beat him even at the expected price, which is going to be much, much, much lower than the 12-1 at which those sharp enough to tab him in the Derby cashed. It seems impossible the two Bob Baffert-trained colts, Medina Spirit and Concert Tour, wind up dueling with one another.

MIDNIGHT BOURBON can upset the Preakness, assuming he gets a different trip than his better-than-looked sixth in the Kentucky Derby. Midnight Bourbon runs best when he is forwardly placed, but he was unable to establish a forward position in the Derby. He raced in the back half of the field, lost ground most of the race, and missed by slightly more than eight lengths. Under compromising circumstances, he actually ran very well.

Perhaps the most important thing to do when sitting down with the past performances for the 146th Preakness is to put the controversy and subsequent distractions surrounding the Kentucky Derby winner aside. Once that is done, it quickly becomes clear that MEDINA SPIRIT, whether he wins this race or not, holds a significant edge over his nine rivals in both form and speed.

After the infamous Derby DQ two years ago, after the disruptions caused by the coronavirus last year, the sport of racing seemed set to enjoy a panic-free Triple Crown run this year.

How wrong that notion turned out to be.

BALTIMORE – With Keepmeinmind, trainer Robertino Diodoro is enjoying his first Triple Crown experience. He doesn’t expect it to be his last.

“I haven’t left here and I’m already itching to get back,” Diodoro said Thursday morning at Pimlico where on Saturday he planned to start Keepmeinmind in the $1 million Preakness.

Diodoro, who made his reputation as a claiming trainer, said he is getting better stock and has 2-year-olds by top sires such as Into Mischief and Medaglia d’Oro that he hopes can get him back on the trail next year.

BALTIMORE – Once was, a whole lot of Kentucky Derby runners would run back two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes. But with modern-day horsemen preferring more time between races, it has become increasingly common for just a handful of Derby starters – if not fewer – to resurface in the second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.

They had just crossed the finish line in the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks, with John Velazquez and Malathaat outfinishing Irad Ortiz Jr. and Search Results by a neck. The vanquished Ortiz, the three-time reigning Eclipse champion jockey, patted Velazquez multiple times on the back and then reached for his hand to congratulate him.

“I had to congratulate him,” Ortiz, 28, said this week. “I told him, ‘You are our teacher.’ It came from my heart, honestly. I respect him.

BALTIMORE – So much for a return to normalcy.

After being run in October as the third leg of the Triple Crown and in front of an empty grandstand in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Preakness has been restored to its rightful place on the calendar – the third Saturday in May. There will be fans allowed on-site, albeit just 10,000 on a day when typically more than 100,000 are in attendance.