Drury’s Art Collector is biggest threat to Authentic

BALTIMORE — Trainer Tommy Drury and Art Collector get another chance at Triple Crown glory this weekend.

Drury will start his first horse in a Triple Crown race when he saddles Art Collector in today’s Preakness, which has a 5:45 p.m. post time on WAVY. It will be the final leg of the Triple Crown for the first time in its 145-year history. And now that Drury’s wait is over, Art Collector looks like the biggest threat to Kentucky Derby winner Authentic at a mostly empty Pimlico Race Course.

Drury was poised to make his Triple Crown debut at the Kentucky Derby until he discovered something was wrong with Art Collector, arguably the best horse he has ever had in his barn. Drury made the difficult decision to scratch him, a move he called a no-brainer.

Now, Art Collector is set to race — four weeks after Drury took no risks with his impressive colt.

“We’re certainly going to stand by that decision, and there’s no looking back at this point,” Drury said. “We’re focused on the Preakness and what we can do down the road. Our horse is good right now, and we’re ready to take our best shot.”

Art Collector is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line after 9-5 favorite Authentic, who, if he wins, would make trainer Bob Baffert 6 for 6 taking the Derby winner to the Preakness. There will be no fans on hand — only select owners, trainers and other essential personnel — because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nonetheless, Baffert, who also has Thousand Words in the 11-horse field, is looking for his recordbreaking eighth Preakness victory.

Baffert and Drury shared a golf-cart ride at Churchill Downs prior to the Derby, and that’s about all they share. The two had never met before, and while Baffert has swept the Triple Crown twice and won 16 races in the series, Drury has never even started a horse in a Triple Crown race until now.

Art Collector, a popular pick to win the Derby before getting scratched, is finally putting Drury in the spotlight after more than 30 years in the business.

“He’s taken my career to places that I never dreamed it would go, and he’s just a member of the family,” Drury said. “I’ve not had anything like him ever before.”