Ky. Derby winner draws No. 5 post and is 2nd choice in Preakness field
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan on Monday drew the No. 5 post position for the Preakness at 6:50 p.m. Saturday in Baltimore.
But Mystik Dan is not favored in the second leg of the Triple Crown. He’s the second choice in the nine-horse field at 5-2.
The early favorite at 8-5 is Bob Baffert-trained Muth, which drew the No. 4 post.
Baffert, who didn’t have a horse in the Derby because he is still banned from Churchill Downs, also has No. 9 Imagination (6-1) in the Preakness.
Along with Mystik Dan, there are two other Derby runners in the 13⁄16th-mile event at Pimlico: They are Catching Freedom (No. 3, 6-1), who finished fourth, and D. Wayne Lukas' Just Steel, who was17th in Louisville, and is 10-1 in post position No. 7.
Others in the Preakness are Lukas' Seize the Grey (No. 6, 15-1), No. 2 Uncle Heavy (20-1), No. 8 Tuscan Gold (8-1) and No. 1 Mugatu (20-1).
NBA
Taking the blame: Shooting guard Josh Hart is taking the blame for New York’s poor performance in a blowout Game 4 loss at Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The lifeless Knicks on Sunday took the floor against a Pacers team dreading the thought of returning to Madison Square Garden in a 3-1 series hole for Game 5 on Tuesday.
The host Pacers responded by walloping the Knicks by 20 points in the opening period and building a lead that swelled to 43 points by the 9:40 mark of the fourth quarter.
Hart, who scored in double-figures in seven of the previous eight games and recorded 10 or more rebounds in six of the last eight games, finished with just two points and two rebounds in 24 minutes.
“I put that on my shoulders,” Hart said. “I’m supposed to be the energy guy of the team, and I didn’t do anything. I gave nothing.”
With the series tied 2-2, Game 5 is Tuesday at 8 p.m. (TNT).
In the other half of the TNT doubleheader, Minnesota visits Denver at 10:30 p.m. That Western Conference semifinal series also is tied 2-2.
GOLF
PGA Championship: Throngs of fans gathered Monday to follow Tiger Woods’ practice round for the PGA Championship — which begins Thursday — at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Woods, 48, is set to play for the first time since making the cut at the
Masters in April and finishing 60th. He finished second at the PGA Championship as recently as 2018 but did not play last year after undergoing ankle surgery. Woods won the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla by beating Bob May ina playoff. It was the third straight win of what was ultimately dubbed the “Tiger Slam” and the fifth of his 15 career major wins.
PGA Tour: An eagle by Rory McIlroy on the par-5 10th hole added to his final-round momentum on his way to winning the Wells Fargo Championship for the fourth time Sunday in Charlotte.
“I just went on a run that for whatever reason I’m able to go on at this golf course,” McIlroy said. “Quail Hollow [and] Charlotte in general have been really good to me.”
He shot a final-round 6-under-par 65 for a tournament total of 17-under 267, good for a five-stroke advantage on runner-up Xander Schauffele, who had 71 in the final round.
South Korea’s Byeong Hun An shot 66 Sunday for a 9-under total of 275, good for third place.
Champions Tour: Doug Barron posted a 4-under 68 on Sunday to win the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala. Barron, 54, turned in a bogey-free round with four birdies to secure his first title at a PGA Tour Champions major and his third victory overall. He finished at 17-under 271, two strokes ahead of Steven Alker.
ETC.
College basketball: Utah State forward Great Osobor has committed to transfer to Washington, ESPN reported. Osobor, who was the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, has name, image and likeness agreements in place worth $2 million, which would be the highest known valuation in the sport this season, ESPN said.
NASCAR: All Brad Keselowski needed Sunday to snap his careerlong losing streak was a good break. Keselowski took advantage of a tussle up front, grabbed the lead with nine laps to go and won the NASCAR Cup Series’ Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
In a 33-lap dash after
Kyle Larson’s wreck,
Tyler Reddick ran down leader Chris Buescher on the backstretch, but the two cars made contact in Turn 3 with 10 laps left, knocking both cars out of the season’s 13th race as it stayed green.
Third-place Keselowski assumed the point and went on to break his 110-race winless streak, which dated back to Talladega in 2021. He beat
Ty Gibbs by 1.214 seconds Sunday in the sixcaution race.