Mystik Dan is the horse to watch in the Preakness Stakes, but the Kentucky Derby winner might not be the horse to beat in Saturday’s race.

Mystik Dan became this year’s Triple Crown contender on May 4 when the colt nipped Sierra Leone by a nose in a three-wide finish with Forever Young in the 150th Run for the Roses.

But Mystik Dan is not the morning-line favorite for the 149th Preakness. In the morning-line odds released after the post position draw on Monday, Muth was listed at 8-5, with Mystik Dan at 5-2.

On March 30, Muth won the Arkansas Derby, a standard springboard to the Kentucky Derby for a top 3-year-old annually. But Muth could not run in the Kentucky Derby because of Churchill Downs’ ban on the colt’s trainer, Bob Baffert.

Baffert-trained horses can’t run at Churchill Downs and its affiliate tracks through the 2024 calendar year after 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test and was disqualified.

Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is not affected by the ban, so Muth is in the field for Saturday’s race.

Baffert trained last year’s Preakness winner, National Treasure, which won after having to skip the Kentucky Derby. National Treasure was Baffert’s eighth Preakness winner, more than any other trainer has had.

Before winning the Arkansas Derby, Muth won the American Pharoah Stakes and the San Vicente Stakes and finished as the runner-up to Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

At the Arkansas Derby, Muth finished 6.25 lengths ahead of Mystik Dan, with Just Steel in between.

At the Kentucky Derby, Fierceness faded to a 15th-place finish after running on the pace through the 1-mile pole. Running on the lead halfway through the race, Just Steel also dropped anchor to a 17th-place showing.

Post time for the Preakness Stakes is 5:50 p.m. CDT Saturday.

NBC Sports will televise the Preakness Stakes. Coverage from Old Hilltop will start at 12:30 p.m. CDT Saturday on CNBC. NBC and Peacock will take over at 3:30 p.m.

The field for the Preakness Stakes, with post position and morning-line odds, includes:

Post Position 1: Mugatu 20-1

Mugatu has won victory in 12 races – a maiden special weight event at Gulfstream Park on Nov. 18, 2023, in the colt’s fifth outing. Mugatu has one graded-stakes appearance – a fifth-place showing in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on April 6. Trainer: Jeff Engler. Jockey: Joe Bravo. Record: 12-1-1-3. Earnings: $80,570. Pedigree: Union Way by Blofeld.

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Post Position 2: Uncle Heavy 20-1

With three victories in his four races, Uncle Heavy looked as though he might be a Kentucky Derby contender when he won the Grade 3 Withers Stakes on Feb. 3. But then the colt couldn’t make up any ground in the stretch and finished fifth in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 6. Trainer: Robert E. Reid Jr. Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Record: 5-3-0-0. Earnings: $323,580. Pedigree: Expect Wonderful by Social Inclusion.

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Post Position 3: Catching Freedom 6-1

Catching Freedom closed fast at the Kentucky Derby but came up about 2 lengths back of the three-wide finish in fourth place. Previously in 2024, Catching Freedom had two victories sandwiching a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes. The colt entered the Kentucky Derby off a 1-length victory in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 23. Catching Freedom was 11th at the three-quarter pole and passed three runners in the stretch to win at The Fair Grounds. Trainer: Brad Cox. Jockey: Flavien Prat, who rode 2021 Preakness winner Rombauer. Record: 6-3-0-1. Earnings: $1,127,350. Pedigree: Catch My Drift by Constitution.

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Post Position 4: Muth 8-5

Muth has never finished worst than second in six races and won the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 30 the last time out. In Muth’s other 3-year-old outing, the colt won the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes on Jan. 6. Muth also won the American Pharoah Stakes on Oct. 7 and was the runner-up to Fierceness in the Grade 1 Juvenile Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 3. Trainer: Bob Baffert, who saddled Preakness winners Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998, Point Given in 2001, War Emblem in 2002, Lookin at Lucky in 2010, American Pharoah in 2015, Justify in 2018 and National Treasure in 2023. Jockey: Juan Hernandez. Record: 6-4-2-0. Earnings: $1,504,100. Pedigree: Hoppa by Good Magic.

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Post Position 5: Mystik Dan 5-2

Mystik Dan’s run on the rail allowed the colt to win the Kentucky Derby by a nose over Sierra Leone on May 4. Mystik Dan became a Kentucky Derby contender by winning the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 3 by 8 lengths over Just Steel. The colt’s final derby prep didn’t go as well as Mystik Dan finished 4.5 lengths behind Just Steel, which ran 2 lengths behind race winner Muth in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 30. Trainer: Kenny McPeek, who saddled 2020 Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver. Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr. Record: 7-3-1-1. Earnings: $3,741,360. Pedigree: Ma’am by Goldencents.

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Post Position 6: Seize the Grey 15-1

Seize the Grey won at Churchill Downs on May 4 – not the Kentucky Derby, but the Pat Day Mile with a nice stretch run. That marked a turnaround in fortune from the colt’s previous outing – a seventh-place showing in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes. Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas, who saddled Preakness winners Codex in 1980, Tank’s Prospect in 1985, Tabasco Cat in 1994, Timber Country in 1995, Charismatic in 1999 and Oxbow in 2013. Jockey: Jaime Torres. Record: 9-3-0-3. Earnings: $619,938. Pedigree: Smart Shopping by Arrogate.

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Post Position 7: Just Steel 15-1

The well-campaigned colt ran seven times as 2-year-old but finished seventh and sixth in the races that mattered – the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes and Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity. And Just Steel has a seventh-place run at the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes on Feb. 24 and a 17th-place showing in the Kentucky Derby on May 4. The the rest of Just Steel’s 3-year-old schedule has been second-place showings in the Smarty Jones, the Grade 3 Southwest and Grade 1 Arkansas. Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas. Jockey: Joel Rosario. Record: 12-2-4-1. Earnings: $724,545. Pedigree: Irish Lights by Justify, which won the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

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Post Position 8: Tuscan Gold 8-1

The lightly raced colt came in third at the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 23 in his most recent race. In its only 2-year-old appearance, Tuscan Gold ran fourth on Nov. 4 at Aqueduct. Tuscan Gold won by 6.25 lengths at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 31. Trainer: Chad Brown, who saddle Preakness winners Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022. Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione, who rode 2019 Preakness winner War of Will. Record: 3-1-0-1. Earnings: $147,100. Pedigree: Valadorna by Medaglia D’Oro.

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Post Position 9: Imagination 6-1

If Imagination could stop losing by a neck, the colt would have quite a record. Three of its four second-place finishes have come by that measurement, including Imagination’s most recent outing on April 6, when Stronghold won the Santa Anita Derby by that distance. Imagination’s biggest victory came at the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 3. Trainer: Bob Baffert, who saddled Preakness winners Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998, Point Given in 2001, War Emblem in 2002, Lookin at Lucky in 2010, American Pharoah in 2015, Justify in 2018 and National Treasure in 2023. Jockey: Lanfranco Dettori. Record: 6-2-4-0. Earnings: $406,800. Pedigree: Magical Feeling by Into Mischief.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.