Just Steel

Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, who won his seventh GI Preakness Stakes in 2024 with recently retired new Gainesway stallion Seize the Grey (Arrogate), has two of his other highly regarded 2024 stakes performers training at Oaklawn Park for a return to the races. BC Stables, LLC and Henry Schmueckle's Just Steel (Justify), winner of the 2023 Ed Brown Stakes and runner-up in Oaklawn's 2024 GI Arkansans Derby, GIII Southwest Stakes, and Smarty Jones Stakes, emerged from a fifth-place finish in the Preakness with a right-front leg fracture and subsequently...

GI Arkansas Derby runner up Just Steel (Justify) continues to do well since having surgery to repair a condylar fracture of his right front fetlock May 22. In a video update provided by Light Up Racing and Martha Jane at Mulholland Springs, the 3-year-old is said to progressing well through rehab. Detailing his next steps, she says that: "It's been about 35 days since his surgery so we've started hand-walking him. Dr. Bramlage would like to have him hand-walked for another month. If everything still goes well, we will take...

Just Steel (Justify), who sustained a condylar fracture of his right front fetlock during Saturday's GI Preakness S., has had successful surgery at the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, according to a post from Light Up Racing on X yesterday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Larry Bramlage, who appeared in a video on the post. "We're here with Just Steel this morning; this is the morning after his surgery," said Bramlage, in the video shot Wednesday. "He's doing really well. He has a somewhat unusual fracture...

Baltimore, MD--Just Steel (Justify), who finished fifth behind stablemate Seize the Grey (Arrogate) in Saturday's GI Preakness S., exited the race with a condylar fracture of the right front leg, and will require further evaluation before a full diagnosis can be given, according to D. Wayne Lukas Sunday morning. "That will fall to Dr. Larry Bramlage down in Lexington," said Lukas when asked of the colt's status. "He has seen it already, and at first blush, his reaction is that it will be ok. Obviously, it's nothing life threatening. But...

BALTIMORE, MD -- He's baaack. The truth of the matter, trainer Bob Baffert never really went away. The Hall of Famer's omnipresent influence--be it through his runners or the offspring of the stallions he helped mold--can be felt everywhere, regardless of whether the man shows up or not. Conspicuous in his absence at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, Baffert did make his first appearance on the Pimlico backstretch Friday morning, surrounded by a rockstar-caliber entourage, including his kids and his wife Jill, in addition to SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan and...

Baltimore, MD--The stage may have changed but the show remains the same. Two weeks ago, the Triple Crown train ran through Louisville, where all were treated to a sensory assault that can only be understood when experienced first-hand. With the tour moving on to Pimlico this week, there is an undeniable adjustment. It's something like comparing Taylor Swift to Courtney Love. No further explanation required. However, despite all of its shortcomings (and no, the elevator is still not working), Pimlico and the GI Preakness S. offer a charm that many...

The field for the GI Preakness S., ranked in "likeliest winner" order: 1) MYSTIK DAN (c, Goldencents--Ma'am, by Colonel John). O/B-Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, 4G Racing, LLC, & Valley View Farm LLC (Ky); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-3-1-1, $3,650,050. Last start: WON May 4 GI Kentucky Derby. The Derby champ will go favored in the Preakness on Saturday after the scratch of 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic). This son of Goldencents upset the first leg of the Triple Crown at 18-1 odds. In the last three Derbies,...

With the scratch of GISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) from Saturday's GI Preakness S. due to a temperature, Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm LLC's Mystik Dan (Goldencents) is expected to be the favorite. The GI Kentucky Derby winner galloped 1 3/16 miles on a sloppy, sealed surface Wednesday morning under retired jockey Robby Albarado at Pimlico after the renovation break. "I'm doing a rain dance all this week," said Albarado. "I'm not saying he has to take a racetrack with...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) continued his preparation ahead of Saturday's GI Preakness S. with a leg-stretching trip around the Pimlico surface Tuesday morning under Robby Albarado. The pair jogged seven furlongs before Albarado let the colt gallop through 1 1/2 miles. "I let him clip along today, and he's not even blowing," Albarado told Pimlico media following the work. "I thought every day would be a better day for him. He's getting comfortable with his surroundings. He knows where he's at now. I couldn't be more pleased...

In the few days after Mystik Dan (Goldencents) pulled an 18-1 upset in the GI Kentucky Derby, there was the real possibility that none of the 20 horses that competed in the first leg of the Triple Crown would press on to Saturday's GI Preakness S. By Sunday afternoon, any such concerns had abated--the Derby winner had been confirmed by trainer Ken McPeek and Derby fourth Catching Freedom (Constitution) was also given the green light by Brad Cox, joining a field that had already included two each from Hall of...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed both Seize the Grey (Arrogate) and Just Steel (Justify) would go on to Baltimore with an eye on the GI Preakness S. after runs this past Saturday at Churchill Downs, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Monday. Seize the Grey won the GII Pat Day Mile S. while Just Steel wound up 17th in the GI Kentucky Derby. "We'll bring both of ours," Lukas confirmed to the Maryland Jockey Club media Monday. "We will be there Monday." Meanwhile, Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents),...

When Hall of Famer Wayne Lukas sends out Just Steel (Justify) in this year's GI Kentucky Derby it will be his first starter in the race since 2018. Lukas, 88, is a perpetual optimist, but even he had to be worrying that he had had his last Derby starter. It wasn't Lukas. Even at his age he never slowed down. It was the sport's top owners. Many wouldn't send a horse to an octogenarian, knocking on the door of 90, even one considered to be one of the greatest trainers...