Picture a rainy May day at Pimlico Race Course, the track a sloppy mess, and the crowd buzzing with anticipation for the 149th Preakness Stakes on May 18, 2024. All eyes were glued to Mystik Dan, the upset Kentucky Derby champ, as fans wondered if he could snag the second jewel of the Triple Crown. But in horse racing, surprises are never far off, and a grey colt named Seize the Grey was about to steal the show.
Fresh off a win in the Pat Day Mile on Derby day, Seize the Grey wasn’t the favorite—that honor went to Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez, Jr. Nine horses lined up for the 2024 Preakness, with four coming from Churchill Downs two weeks earlier: Mystik Dan, Catching Freedom, and Just Steel from the Derby, and Seize the Grey stretching out from the Mile. The rest? They’d prepped in Derby points races, ready to tackle the muddy 1 3/16-mile challenge.
The sloppy track was a wildcard, but according to FandDuel research, Seize the Grey was no stranger to messy conditions. He’d broken his maiden on a sloppy Saratoga track as a two-year-old and had stakes-placed form on muddy ground. With regular jockey Jaime Torres aboard, the son of Arrogate shot to the lead like he owned the place. Imagination, ridden by Frankie Dettori, tried to keep up, shadowing the leader early, but Seize the Grey wasn’t slowing down.
Mystik Dan hung midfield, and when Hernandez asked for more in the stretch, the Derby winner couldn’t reel in the frontrunner. Seize the Grey crossed the wire 2 ¼ lengths ahead, with Mystik Dan barely holding second over a charging Catching Freedom. The Triple Crown dream was over for 2024, but for 86-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas, it was a seventh Preakness victory—a testament to his Hall of Fame grit.
Credit: Instagram/Preakness Stakes
Seize the Grey’s story didn’t end there. Three weeks later, he took on the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, aiming to join Justify (2018) as a multi-Triple Crown race winner. Mystik Dan was there too, but the grey colt set the pace under pressure from Dornoch. Maybe the campaign’s toll or the extra distance got to him—Seize the Grey faded to seventh, 12 ¾ lengths back.
Still, that muddy Preakness day belonged to Seize the Grey, a horse who turned a sloppy track into his stage and reminded us why the Triple Crown keeps us hooked.
The Fastest Times Clocked at The Triple Crown Horse Racing Event
In the storied history of horse racing, only 13 thoroughbreds have claimed the elusive Triple Crown, sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in a single year. Since Sir Barton first pulled it off in 1919, the feat has remained a rare jewel, with American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018) being the latest to join this exclusive club. But when it comes to speed, one horse towers above them all: the legendary Secretariat.
In 1973, “Big Red” didn’t just win the Triple Crown—he obliterated the competition with a combined time of 6:16.40 across the three races, a record that still stands. Secretariat’s dominance was breathtaking. He scorched the Kentucky Derby in 1:59.40, a time so fast that only one other horse, Monarchos in 2001, has even come close, clocking 1:59.97. At the Preakness, Secretariat cruised to a 1:53.00 finish, and in the Belmont, facing just five rivals, he romped to a jaw-dropping 31-length victory in 2:24.00. To this day, he holds the record for the fastest time in each of these races.
Other Triple Crown champs have had their moments of glory. Whirlaway and Assault, for instance, share the Derby’s largest margin of victory—eight lengths—tying with non-Crown winners, Old Rosebud (1914) and Johnstown (1939). Meanwhile, Smarty Jones, a 2004 standout, set the Preakness record for margin of victory with an 11½-length rout, though he fell short of the Crown after a Belmont upset.
Secretariat’s 1973 campaign wasn’t just about numbers; it was a spectacle that cemented his place in racing lore. His Belmont romp, in particular, left jaws on the floor, with the chestnut colt galloping into history. For fans and bettors alike, the question isn’t just who won the Triple Crown—it’s whether anyone will ever match Big Red’s blazing speed. So far, no one has.
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