BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas got his first big break as a thoroughbred trainer 44 years ago when Codex — a horse who skipped the Kentucky Derby — won the Preakness.
Now 88 years old, the Hall of Fame trainer used that same formula to find himself in the Preakness winner’s circle for the seventh time.
Seize the Grey, winner of the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard two weeks ago, wired the field Saturday in the $2 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
Who else but Seize the Grey on a gray and rainy day at Pimlico?
“The (most recent) one is always the sweetest,” said Lukas, whose previous Preakness victory came with Oxbow in 2013. “The last girl you dance with is the one you take home.”
The octogenarian trainer then pulled out an old-fashioned communication device — a flip phone.
“How about this?” he said with a laugh. “You think I’m not 88 years old?”
Ridden by Jaime Torres, Seize the Grey covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:56.82 and paid $21.60 on a $2 win wager.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan was 2 ¼ lengths back in second, ending his bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Justify in 2018. Catching Freedom finished another head back in third.
Torres took Seize the Grey to the lead out of the gate and never looked back, setting fractions of 23.98 seconds for the quarter-mile, 47.33 seconds for the half-mile and 1:11.95 for three-quarters.
The Bob Baffert-trained Imagination raced off Mystik Dan’s flank for the first three-quarters before fading to seventh in the eight-horse field.
Torres said his early strategy was to stay close to Imagination, whom many considered the lone speed in the race.
“Seize the Grey is such an amazing horse,” Torres said. “He relaxed for me. He felt the other horses coming close, and he was just looking at them. As soon as I asked, I had a lot of horse. From the (quarter pole) to the wire, he gave me everything.”
Mystik Dan pulled within a length off the final turn but never got closer.
“We anticipated that Seize the Grey was going to go, and honestly I didn’t think he’d stay after going (47.33 for the half-mile),” Mystik Dan trainer Kenny McPeek said. “Look, Wayne’s an amazing guy. He’s a brave man. He brings a horse in two weeks after he won the Pat Day Mile, and you’ve got to give it to him. …
“My colt is a fantastic colt. I’m proud of him. It wasn’t his day, but he’ll live to race again.”
A son of Arrogate, Seize the Grey improved to 4-0-3 in 10 career starts for MyRacehorse, which was founded by Michael Behrens. MyRacehorse provides low-dollar ownership shares, and Seize the Grey has 2,570 co-owners from 42 states at $127 per share.
MyRacehorse owned a partial share of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.
“What we tried to do four years ago (when starting the business) is to allow anybody to experience the thrill of winning the biggest races,” Behrens said. “We just had 2,570 people experience one of the greatest thrills in racing.”
Lukas said he’d consider running Seize the Grey in the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes on June 8. Because of construction at Belmont Park, the race will be held at Saratoga and contested at 1 ¼ miles instead of the traditional 1 ½ miles.
“If we go, we’ll be tough,” Lukas said. “He’ll get a mile-and-a-quarter.”
It was the last Preakness at the current configuration of Pimlico, which will undergo a $400 million rebuild over the next three-plus years.
The current plan calls for the 2025 Preakness to be held at Pimlico amid construction and the 2026 Preakness at Laurel Park. The site for 2027 is undecided, with the 2028 Preakness scheduled to be held at the new Pimlico.
“This place has been a lot of fun for all of us,” said Lukas, who’s enjoyed his share since that first Preakness win so long ago.
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Jason Frakes: (502) 582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Preakness 2024 results: Who won the race? Seize the Grey is Stakes winner
