LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — If Kenny McPeek does not send Mystik Dan to Baltimore to race in the Preakness next week, it will not be the first time McPeek passed on the second leg of the Triple Crown with a Kentucky Derby horse.
It will be the eighth time.
Asking a 3-year-old horse to race 1-3/16th miles two weeks after running the most demanding mile-and-a-quarter of his life has always been a difficult ask for McPeek.
When you do it with Frac Daddy (2013) or Smile Happy (2022), nobody shows up at your barn and wonders why.
But when you even suggest doing that with Mystik Dan, the winner by a nose of the most watched Kentucky Derby in 35 years, the world will show up at Barn 6 and wonder when you plan to make a decision.
This weekend? Probably. Maybe. Certainly by Monday, when horses must enter the Preakness. But remember: Even if McPeek and the colt’s owners enter Mystik Dan, they can always scratch.
"You don’t need to make a decision (yet)," McPeek said. "No decision is set in stone. Even if I said he was running, I could decide not to.
"So at this point, it’s not a decision we have to make yet. An old guy told me one time, 'Never make a decision until you absolutely have to because you might want to change your mind.'
"And with race horses, it's all gray. None of it's black and white."
What is black and white is McPeek's record of not forcing his Derby horses into the Preakness. That’s not his style.
In 1995, he ran Tejano Run, his first Derby horse, in the Preakness. The colt finished second at Churchill Downs and seventh at Pimlico. They skipped the Belmont, the third leg of the Triple Crown.
The colt went on to race a dozen more times, winning five races.
In 2002, he ran Harlan’s Holiday, his third Derby horse, in the Preakness. The colt improved from seventh in the Derby to fourth in the Preakness. They skipped the Belmont. Harlan’s Holiday raced 11 more times, with three more victories.
McPeek’s seven other Derby horses, including the last six, did not run in the Preakness. Only one, Frac Daddy, came back for the Belmont.
Here's the big-picture footnote: Most of those McPeek horses had long careers. Six of them raced at least a dozen more times after the Kentucky Derby. That's not always the case with young horses that are pushed out of their comfort zone.
Which is not to say that McPeek is against running the Derby winner in the Preakness. He isn't. He understands the responsibility of being the trainer of the Kentucky Derby winner and the important role he now plays in becoming the face of horse racing this spring.
"It’s like (Hall of Fame trainer) Carl Nafzger told me," McPeek said. "I’ve gone from 'Kenny Who?' To 'Kenny says.'"
In other words, during Derby Week the media scrums outside Barn 6, were modest. On Wednesday morning, when Mystik Dan returned to the track for the first time since Saturday, McPeek and his horse were surrounded by cameras.
If you are one of the 2,000 or so people who has called or texted McPeek with congratulations, be patient. He will respond when he has time to exhale. There have been calls and texts from childhood friends, college friends, politicians, sports figures, people from all eras of McPeek's life.
McPeek said one of the most enjoyable calls that he received came Sunday night from California, from a trainer who has won six Kentucky Derbies and plans to enter two colts in the Preakness.
That, of course, was Bob Baffert, who missed his third consecutive Derby because of a suspension by Churchill Downs.
"Bob was tremendously gracious," McPeek said. "He told me that he was very happy for me and that I should be really proud and I’d done something he had not done (win the Kentucky Oaks and Derby on the same weekend). I really enjoying talking to Bob."
McPeek would enjoy racing against Baffert's two colts — Muth and Imagination — if Mystik Dan appears primed to race again May 18.
Mystik Dan jogged a mile and then galloped a mile-and-an-eighth Wednesday morning. After leaving most of his feed in the tub Saturday night, Mystik Dan resumed his usual robust eating regimen Sunday.
The colt will gallop again Thursday morning. Ditto for Friday morning. By Saturday morning McPeek might ask the colt for something a bit more demanding.
And then he and Mystik Dan's owners will make their Preakness decision -- based on what is best for the horse.
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