Meet the jockeys and trainers of Preakness 149

Following the scratch of Muth, eight horses are slated to contest the 2024 Preakness (G1) at Pimlico. Seven trainers and eight jockeys will help those horses run to their full potential in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Much has been written about the horses entered in the 149th Preakness. Now let’s take a moment to meet their trainers and jockeys:

2024 Preakness Jockeys

Joe Bravo (Mugatu)

With more than 5,600 victories under his belt, Joe Bravo is one of the winningest jockeys in North American racing history. But for all his success, Bravo has yet to win a Triple Crown race. His best Preakness finish was a fifth aboard Teeth of the Dog in 2012.

Irad Ortiz Jr. (Uncle Heavy)

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is still seeking his first Preakness victory. He’s finished second twice aboard Midnight Bourbon (2021) and Blazing Sevens (2023).

Flavien Prat (Catching Freedom)

Flavien Prat is undefeated in the Preakness. His lone ride yielded victory aboard Rombauer in 2021, his second score in a Triple Crown race after winning the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) aboard Country House.

Brian Hernandez Jr. (Mystik Dan)

Brian Hernandez Jr. has ridden four times in the Preakness, most notably finishing third aboard Creative Minister in 2022. Winner of the 2004 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey, Hernandez secured his first win in a Triple Crown race when guiding Mystik Dan to a rail-skimming Kentucky Derby (G1) triumph two weeks ago.

Seize the Grey (Jaime Torres)

Jaime Torres started riding less than two years ago. He picked up his first graded stakes win aboard Seize the Grey in the Pat Day Mile (G2) and retains the mount for the Preakness, which will mark his first ride in a Triple Crown race. 

Joel Rosario (Just Steel)

Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario has yet to win the Preakness, though it’s not from a lack of trying. He’s finished second four times aboard Ride On Curlin (2014), Tale of Verve (2015), Everfast (2019), and Epicenter (2022).

Tyler Gaffalione (Tuscan Gold)

Tyler Gaffalione made his Preakness debut in 2019 aboard War of Will, whom he guided through an opening on the inside to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Winner of the 2015 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey, Gaffalione has since developed into one of the nation’s annual leading jockeys by wins and earnings.

Frankie Dettori (Imagination)

Internationally renowned jockey Frankie Dettori has won 15 Breeders’ Cup races, but never a U.S. Triple Crown event. Now riding in North America full-time after a career in Europe, Dettori is making his Preakness debut aboard Imagination.

2024 Preakness Trainers

Jeff Engler (Mugatu)

Jeff Engler has won more than 200 races since saddling his first starter in 2009, but a graded stakes win has proven elusive. Perhaps Engler can secure a breakthrough graded stakes win with Mugatu, his first Preakness starter.

Robert Reid Jr. (Uncle Heavy)

Robert "Butch" Reid Jr. has won nearly a thousand races during a career dating back to 1985, including the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) with champion Vequist. He’s never saddled a Preakness starter, but that will change when Uncle Heavy enters the starting gate.

Brad Cox (Catching Freedom)

Two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox has saddled two horses in the Preakness: Owendale and Warrior’s Charge, who ran second and third in 2019. Winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont (G1) in 2021, Cox will attempt to complete a personal Triple Crown sweep with Catching Freedom.

Kenny McPeek (Mystik Dan)

When the 2020 Preakness was postponed until October due to COVID-19, Kenny McPeek sent out his soon-to-be champion filly Swiss Skydiver to beat the boys. McPeek’s 2,000+ career wins include a Kentucky Derby triumph with Mystik Dan and a Belmont with Sarava.

D. Wayne Lukas (Seize the Grey, Just Steel)

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has won the Preakness six times with Codex (1980), Tank’s Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995), Charismatic (1999), and Oxbow (2013). He’s sending out both Seize the Grey and Just Steel in search of a seventh win.

Tuscan Gold (Chad Brown)

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown has won a pair of Preaknesses with Cloud Computing (2017) and Early Voting (2022), in addition to finishing second by a head with Blazing Sevens (2023). All three of those horses skipped the Kentucky Derby, the same approach Brown is taking with Tuscan Gold.

Imagination (Bob Baffert)

Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert has won the Preakness a record eight times with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), Point Given (2001), War Emblem (2002), Lookin At Lucky (2010), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018), and National Treasure (2023). He’ll seek a record-extending ninth win with Imagination.