Saturday's Preakness Will Feature Smallest Field Since 1986, Following Scratch of First Mission

2023 Kentucky Derby Winner Mage received a major boost to his chances of winning the second leg of the Triple Crown on Friday when it was announced that First Mission was scratched from Saturday’s Preakness Stakes due to a left hind injury.

The removal of the Lexington Stakes winner, who oddsmakers considered the top threat to Mage in the Preakness, trims the field down to seven horses. The departure of the son of Street Sense, who was listed as the second betting choice at odds of 5–2 on the morning line, leaves the race with the smallest amount of entrants since 1986 when Snow Chief beat a field of seven.

In a release shared on Goldolphin.com, director of bloodstock Michael Banahan shared his disappointment: "We are obviously very disappointed, but the welfare of the horse is our utmost concern, and we are going to take the necessary steps to determine the best course of action to get him back on the track.”

The scratch of First Mission, who was expected to be sent to the lead by Luis Saez, now finds a race with Coffeewithchris and National Treasure as the likely pacesetters.

Upon the news, oddsmakers sliced Mage’s opening odds of 8–5 down to 4–5. Following the Derby winner, bettors now find Bob Baffert’s National Treasure as the clear second choice at odds of 3–1. The rest of the field is as follows: Blazing Sevens (5/1), Red Route One (8/1), Perform (12/1), Coffeewithchris (20/1), and Chase the Chaos (30/1).

The 148th running of the Preakness Stakes will take place on Saturday, May 20 at 6:50 p.m. ET from Pimlico Race Course, in Baltimore. The race will be aired on NBC.