With entry day fast approaching Wednesday for the 137th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico, the prospective field came into sharper focus Monday, with Hansen, Hierro, and the longshot Brimstone Island bowing out, leaving a likely field of 11 or 12 for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Hierro, the winner of the Derby Trial in his last start on April 28, will bypass the Preakness Stakes on Saturday and his connections will "consider other options," according to a press release from Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables, which owns the colt.

According to Stonestreet, Banke made the decision after she spoke with trainer Steve Asmussen Monday morning following Hierro's five-furlong work at Churchill Downs in 1:01.20.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Count Bodemeister in Saturday’s Preakness, and Isn’t He Clever and Hansen out.

The latter two horses were with removed from Preakness consideration Monday morning, their trainers said, while others continued their training for the race with breezes and gallops over a rain-soaked Churchill Downs strip Monday morning.

BALTIMORE – A Grade 1 stakes for Arabian horses is being staged early on the Preakness card Saturday at Pimlico Race Course. It will be offered as a special wagering event between the third and fourth races and will not be part of any multi-race wagers.

BALTIMORE – Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another went through another strong gallop Monday morning at Pimlico, where trainer Doug O’Neill chose to send the colt to the track earlier than usual to dodge expected rain later in the morning.

With the track still fast, and with exercise rider Jonny Garcia up, I’ll Have Another was accompanied to the five-furlong pole by his multi-millionaire pony Lava Man before breaking off into a very lively gallop of three-quarters of a mile. Pimlico clocker Mark Euga caught the colt in 26.60 seconds from the quarter pole to the wire.

INGLEWOOD, Calif .- Creative Cause jogged and galloped more than two miles at Betfair Hollywood Park on Sunday morning, showing enthusiasm that trainer Mike Harrington said he lacked for a few days after a fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 5.

“He was pretty much himself this morning,” Harrington said.

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Tiger Walk and Zetterholm, both of whom are scheduled to run in the 137th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, each worked Sunday morning at Pimlico in their final drills for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Tiger Walk worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds for trainer Ignacio  Correas, while Zetterholm was timed in 1:01.40 for five furlongs.

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Went the Day Well has been playing catch up since he arrived in this country and was remanded to quarantine for nearly two weeks. He has certainly made up for lost time – he nearly gave his connections a second straight victory in the Kentucky Derby on May 5 – and he still appears to have plenty of upside, which is one reason why he is being wheeled back in the 137th Preakness Stakes next Saturday at Pimlico.

ELMONT, N.Y. – While a large field remains likely, the lineup for the 137th Preakness Stakes underwent some alterations Friday as Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Dullahan as well as Derby pace factor Trinniberg were removed from consideration while newcomers Teeth of the Dog and Zetterholm were added to the mix.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – If he had it to do again, Harvey Clarke probably still would have sold I’ll Have Another. Clarke sells many of the foals his 10-mare band produces, and, back in 2010, there was nothing about the Flower Alley colt that suggested he would go from $11,000 auction yearling to 2012 Kentucky Derby winner.