Medina Spirt Draws 3 Post, Back To Being Favored To Win Preakness

• The Maryland Jockey Club has cleared Medina Spirit to race in the Preakness Stakes after the Kentucky Derby scandal.
• Medina Spirit is favored to win the Preakness Stakes with +185 odds.
• Bob Baffert trains both Medina Spirit and Concert Tour, the horses with the shortest odds.

BALTIMORE—The second leg of the Triple Crown is on deck, the Preakness Stakes is set to take place on Saturday, May 15 at 6:50 p.m. EST. With that, it is shaping out to be one of the more interesting years for the race after the official draw and controversy leading up to it after the Kentucky Derby.

First and foremost, the Maryland Jockey Club and Bob Baffert have come to terms which will allow for Medina Spirit to race in the Preakness Stakes after being disqualified from the Kentucky Derby for using performance-enhancing drugs.

“We reached an agreement with Mr. Baffert and his lawyers that allows for additional testing, additional monitoring — essentially a watchlist to ensure the integrity of the sport leading up to the race—We’re very pleased to have that, and we appreciate Mr. Baffert’s patience and the way in which his lawyers went about it,” said Alan Rifkin, Lawyer of the Maryland Jockey Club.

With that being said, not only have legal sports betting sites inserted Medina Spirit into their odds boards, but the official draw for the race has been released as well.

Medina Spirit initially was not listed on the opening Preakness odds due to the uncertainty of being in the race, however, with that now in the past, he was added and is now listed as the favorite to win the race and drew a post position of three.

Following Medina Spirit close behind on the odds board is another prodigy that is trained by Bob Baffert, Concert Tour, who has won three of four races this year and is going into the Preakness.

Looking at the draw, sitting at the number one post is Ram, who ironically enough, has the longest odds to win the Preakness despite drawing a favorable post.

The Preakness Stakes is set to begin at 6:50 p.m. EST from the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, and will be broadcasted on NBC.

News tags: Alan Rifkin | Bob Baffert | Concert Tour | Horse Racing | Kentucky Derby | Maryland Jockey Club | Medina Spirit | Preakness Stakes