Preakness Stakes 2021: Medina Spirit draw No. 3 post, opens as 9-5 favorite

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was established as the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. 

Trained by Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit drew the No. 3 post position in a field of 10 for the Preakness. Post time for the Preakness is 6:50 p.m., and the race will be televised live by NBC. 

Medina Spirit's status as the Kentucky Derby winner is in peril after the horse tested positive for 21 picograms of betamethasone following his May 1 victory in the Run for the Roses.

Churchill Downs has announced Medina Spirit will be disqualified as the Kentucky Derby winner if a second test - called a “split sample” – comes back positive. Results of that the second test are not expected back for several weeks.

Before Tuesday's draw, Craig Robertson, Baffert’s lawyer, confirmed an agreement with the Maryland Jockey Club that would allow Medina Spirit and Concert Tour to enter the Preakness. 

In a letter to Alan Rifkin, an attorney for the Maryland Jockey Club, Robertson wrote Baffert consented to blood testing, monitoring and medical record reviews for Medina Spirit, Concert Tour and Beautiful Gift. The latter is entered in Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico.

Robertson wrote the three horses were tested upon arrival at Pimlico and would be tested later Tuesday, with blood samples handled by a lab chosen by the Maryland Jockey Club.

“If any of the three horses test positive for a banned substance, or at a level for a permitted therapeutic substance which is above the designated limit, or if reasonable conditions warrant after MJC’s review of the medical or administrative records, Mr. Baffert, or MJC on his behalf, will scratch that horse from the upcoming race in which that horse is entered this weekend at Pimlico,” Robertson wrote. “Mr. Baffert has given these consents to further the interests of horse racing and the public.”

Preakness post position, horse, trainer, jockey, odds

1. Ram, D. Wayne Lukas, Ricardo Santana Jr., 30-1

2. Keepmeinmind, Robertino Diodoro, David Cohen, 15-1

3. Medina Spirit, Bob Baffert, John Velazquez, 9-5

4. Crowded Trade, Chad Brown, Javier Castellano, 10-1

5. Midnight Bourbon, Steve Asmussen, Irad Ortiz Jr., 5-1

6. Rombauer, Michael McCarthy, Flavien Prat, 12-1

7. France Go de Ina, Hideyuki Mori, Joel Rosario, 20-1

8. Unbridled Honor, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 15-1

9. Risk Taking, Chad Brown, Jose Ortiz, 15-1

10. Concert Tour, Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 5-2

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; [email protected]; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.