May 18, 2024 
Seize the Grey was simply perfect in the Preakness.
The $2 million Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of the Triple Crown, played out to a packed house at Pimlico on Saturday.
Seize the Grey, trained by racing legend D. Wayne Lukas, would be the one to earn rave reviews at the finish of the 1 3/16-mile main track test for 3-year-olds, which was run over a muddy strip.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, the favorite after the scratch of Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Muth, was denied his chance for Triple Crown glory after finishing a game second.
But there was no doubt who this day was all about.
Under 25-year-old Jaime Torres, Seize the Grey, owned by MyRacehorse, burst from the gate and then led his seven rivals through early splits of :23.98 and :47.53.
Mystik Dan, who went off as the mutuel choice, was guided to the rail early by Brian Hernandez, Jr., and sat just off the pacesetter.
As the field navigated the turn for home, Seize the Grey was still game on the front end as Mystik Dan and Catching Freedom looked to reel in the handsome son of Arrogate.
Their efforts would be in vain as Seize the Grey crossed the wire 2 ¼ lengths in front of Mystik Dan, with Catching Freedom a further head back in third. Tuscan Gold rounded out the top four.
The final time for the race was 1:56.82.
Bred in Kentucky by Jamm, LTD., Seize the Grey, who went off at 9-1 in the Preakness, arrived at the race in winning form after taking the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) on May 4 at Churchill.
With the Preakness triumph, the colt is now 4-0-3 from 10 starts.
The victory makes 88-year-old Hall of FamerLukas the oldest conditioner to ever win a Triple Crown race.
It marks his 15th career Triple Crown win and seventh career Preakness victory, the latter tied for the second-most of all time—one behind Bob Baffert.
Seize the Grey paid $21.60 for the win.
A Grade 1 race for 3-year-olds first run in 1873, the race is named in honor of Preakness, who won the Dinner Party Stakes at the opening of Pimlico in 1870.
The Preakness has been run in its traditional spot between the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes since 1931, with 2020 as the only exception, when the races were run in the fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Triple Crown will conclude with the 156th Belmont Stakes on June 8.
There have been 13 Triple Crown winners since 1919 and 23 horses have swept the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but failed to win the Belmont Stakes.
This is the final Preakness before a $400 million Pimlico reconstruction project begins early next year. The race will be held in Baltimore again next year in whatever state the track is in before moving to Laurel Park in 2026 with a return to Pimlico slated for 2027.
