“It’s looking like rain on Friday. I hope that it waits a day,” said Trainer Todd Pletcher, who would not mind if Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver raced on another sloppy track in the Preakness Stakes (G1) on this Saturday. It has 10% chance on Saturday, with partly cloudy skies and a high of 75 degrees.

The rain was gone by the time Super Saver went to the track for the first time at about 6:35 a.m. EDT, but he got to revisit the wet conditions that he conquered throughout Derby week. Super Saver jogged once around the Pimlico Oval tracks in a light morning for him and most of his 11 challengers for the $1-million Preakness Stakes (G1) race.

A Preakness journey for their runners was airplane and no trains and automobiles. The bulk of the expected field for the Preakness Stakes (G1) is already flown by plane and then by a police escorted motorcade to Pimlico Race Course.

Most eyes are on Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Super Saver, who on Saturday will attempt to become the eighth Derby winner in 14 years to move on to the Belmont Stakes (G1) with a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

Trainers were not vocal about their string of horses, as the hot topic of the morning typically gravitated toward the likely pace of the race, which many expect could be the opposite of what turned out to be a hot Derby pace.

Caracortado was the most rambunctious horse of the Wednesday arrivals but looked to have settled into Pimlico nicely as he went to the track following the renovation break.

Also going to the track after the break were Lookin At Lucky and Pleasant Prince. Lookin at Lucky was the beaten favourite in the Derby, and his potential race tactics have been hotly debated this week with news that Martin Garcia will ride him instead of two time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Garrett Gomez.

Three other potential early leaders—Yawanna Twist, Jackson Bend, and First Dude—feature riders in Edgar Prado, Mike Smith, and Ramon Dominguez, respectively, who typically prefer to rate just off the pace when they ride horses with a press-the-lead style featured by each of these three runners.

An early leader does, however, figure to emerge from one of these four horses. With expectations not as high for Yawanna Twist and First Dude, I suspect one of those two will seize the early lead. With Yawanna Twist inside the other early speed horses, I figure the Yonaguska colt will be the early leader.

The pace should play into Super Saver’s favour as he tries to become the 12th horse since Triple Crown winner Affirmed in 1978 to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown. The Woodlawn Vase, 34 inches in height and weighing 29 pounds, 12 ounces, was created by Tiffany and Company in 1860 for R. Aitcheson Alexander as a trophy for the now defunct Woodlawn Racing Association in Louisville, Kentucky. Created as a challenge cup, the Woodlawn Vase was first awarded to Captain R.G. Moore's mare, Mollie Jackson, in 1861. The same owner retained possession the following year through the victory of the mare Idlewind.

Let me share some interesting facts. The Maryland Jockey Club’s previous owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., filed for bankruptcy in March 2009 as increasing competition from neighbouring states with expanded gaming siphoned horses from Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course.

Even the Maryland Jockey Club’s crown jewel, the Preakness Stakes (G1), suffered hard times in 2009 as attendance dropped 30.6% from the previous year to 77,850, its lowest mark since 1983. Handle, however, was up 17.9% to $86,684,470 compared with ’08.

They put a team together of a bugler, jockeys, and young ladies who went to popular areas in Baltimore—Towson festival, Orioles game, Pickles Pub. The bugler would play the call to post, the ladies would talk to people about Infield Fest, and the jockeys would talk to patrons about racing. This team really pushed it hard, and it’s paying off.

Now back to the race. After the declarations of their draws - Super Saver drew post eight and Lookin At Lucky was directly to his inside in post seven. With Hurricane Ike out because of a hind leg injury, the Preakness also lost an early-speed candidate in a race devoid of an obvious pacesetter. Super Saver grabbed the early lead in four of his first five starts, but he has been content to race behind Blazing Speed in his last two races at the discretion of jockey Calvin Borel. He relaxed in sixth position early in the Derby.

“I think [post] eight is perfect, really,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “It gives Calvin the opportunity to kind of survey things inside and outside and see who is doing what. He’s tactical enough that I think he’s going to land in the first tier. There are a couple of horses in here who I think have a little bit of sneaky speed; a horse like Paddy O’Prado could show some speed if [jockey Kent Desormeaux] wanted him to. We’re not committed to anything, just letting him run his race.”

One of the reasons why I am hesitant to back Super Saver here is that he was really the only proven ‘mudder’ in the entire Kentucky Derby field. His record prior to the race really wasn’t particularly impressive with a single graded score coming in 2009 where he took the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. I think Super Saver is vulnerable to late pace, Ice Box could have nabbed him on the line without that nightmare trip, but luckily for Pletcher’s colt there isn’t a huge amount of late pace here and if Borel can keep him tight to the rail and out of trouble then he should win this race. “Should” being the decisive word!