Mr. Z gets new owner, entry in race

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has never paid much attention to skeptics who question the viability of horses he enters in big races, particularly when it comes to the Triple Crown.

“People say I’m not realistic, but I’ve made a living running where I don’t belong,” said Lukas, who pulled a Preakness Stakes shocker with 15-1 Oxbow in 2013.

In that same spirit, Lukas was eager to enter Mr. Z, who ran 13th in the Kentucky Derby, back in the Preakness despite evidence to suggest he should look for an eas- ier spot. The problem: Owner Ahmad Zayat didn’t want to run Mr. Z against his other horse, Derby winner American Pharoah.

“They weren’t going to run together; that was out of the question,” Lukas said. “But they told me to put him on the van (to Pimlico) in case something happened (that would cause American Pharoah to miss the race).”

Instead, during a call with another client — Brad Kelley, who owns Calumet Farm — the conversation turned to whether Mr. Z could be purchased from Zayat. Hours before post positions were drawn Wednesday, Lukas brokered a deal for Kelley to purchase the horse privately and entered him in the race.

“It’s kind of amazing actually, because it’s very difficult to get two people of that magnitude to agree on something that quickly and close it out,” Lukas said.

Lukas felt Mr. Z deserved another chance after getting squeezed at the Derby start and encountering traffic going under the finish line the first time, forcing Ramon Vazquez to check up.