When was the last Triple Crown winner? Mystik Dan heads into Preakness Stakes as favorite.

BALTIMORE - It's been six years since the last horse racing Triple Crown winner. Mystik Dan, who overcame long odds to win the Kentucky Derby, is currently favored to win this weekend's Preakness Stakes at historic Pimlico Race Course.

The 3-year-old colt has 5-2 odds to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown, which has been won 13 times, was last claimed in 2018 by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's Justify.

Muth, a horse trained by Baffert, was scratched from the Preakness early this week, opening the door for the Kentucky Derby winner in the eight-horse field.

Kenneth McPeek, Mystik Dan's trainer, is not worried about any other horse in the race.

"We don't concern ourselves," McPeek said. "I have a hard enough time training my own horse, much less everybody else's. I feel bad for Bob because I think the racing fans really wanted to see that, but he's obviously going to do the right thing with the horse."

Mystik Dan won the Derby by a nose, a photo finish, despite having 18-1 odds. But, because he is not that long-shot this time, McPeek is not taking this competition lightly.

"We have to continue to make sure our horse is right and ready," he said. "It's still going to be a tough race. There's not any reason in the world to think this is going to be easy."

McPeek trained Swiss Screwdriver to the Preakness Stakes winner's circle in 2020. He also won the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, with Sarava in 2002.

"We are cautiously optimistic," McPeek said. "You don't go into a race expecting to lose. It's very humbling game. You can't expect it to fall your way every time. An old guy said once years back, 'win like you used to and lose like you liked it.' If you win, you have to be graceful. If you lose, you have to be graceful."

On Saturday, at the 6:50 p.m. post time, McPeek will be relying on jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. to get them to the finish line.

The trainer said that while the 1 3/16-mile shorter race may be beneficial for his horse, he is going to get Mystik Dan ready and then let Hernandez take over on race day.

"The shorter distances are probably to our benefit, but we will see," McPeek said. "We are going to leave Brian alone out there. Our job  is to get the horse ready, get him tacked up and let Brian do his thing."

'We can win both'  

McPeek isn't worried about the track's conditions or Mystik Dan's mentality.

"Nothing phases him," McPeek said. "He's an old soul, a very smart horse, nothing disturbs him at all."

McPeek, after winning the Kentucky Derby and then committing the horse to the race,  told his wife that it's possible to win the Triple Crown's second leg.

"I told her we can win both of these races," McPeek said. "I told her it will change a lot of things, a lot of texts, a lot of media, but I feel a bit of responsibility as an ambassador, I think we need to work harder to grow the sport. This is an opportunity to get it out there and really help and teach the people."

The third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, will be run  on  June 8.

Focus on horse's safety

Mystik Dan wasn't committed to the Preakness Stakes until Saturday, May 11, a week after running the Kentucky Derby.

McPeek said he wanted to make sure the horse was healthy to race.

The trainer said was more deliberate and took his time because of a learning period in 1995 when he rushed his horse, Tejano Run, who placed second in the Kentucky Derby, to commit to the Preakness Stakes.

Tejano Run finished ninth in the 1995 Preakness Stakes.

"In hindsight, I really should have been more deliberate and taken my time and checked some more details, and ultimately, he ended up running poorly," McPeek said. "So, in this case, I was very focused in on checking all of the boxes, make sure that he is right and ready. We did blood work, we did scope exams, checked all of his markers in his blood and made sure his enzyme levels were good and his inflammation points were zero. 

"Then we brought dehydration levels up, and that's a big deal. We didn't come until after all of that was done."

Baffert's 6-1 'Imagination'

Baffert, who has trained two Triple Crown champions, and has won the Preakness Stakes eight times, has another horse entered in the race.

Imagination, jockeyed by Frankie Dettori, has the second best odds at 6-1.

His horses were unable to race at the Kentucky Derby because he is still suspended at Churchill Downs over failed drug tests.

Baffert won the Preakness Stakes in 2023 with National Treasure.