On the 20th anniversary of his first appearance in the Preakness, Bob Baffert held court at Pimlico Race Course on Wednesday.
This time, the pressure is off the legendary trainer. He has run 17 horses in 15 editions of the Preakness since 1996, but none coming off a year like 2015, when Baffert's horse American Pharoah won on his way to the first Triple Crown since 1978.
Baffert won't have another Triple Crown this year. His Kentucky Derby horse, Mor Spirit, finished 10th at Churchill Downs and will not run Saturday. Instead, Baffert will run Collected, who hasn't raced since April 16.
At the Preakness, the attention is on the favorite, Nyquist.
"You can walk freely around everywhere — nobody's going to bother you," Baffert said with a smile. "You don't need a publicist. You don't have to worry about stuff like that."
Collected did not run in the Kentucky Derby and will not run in the Belmont Stakes next month. After accomplishing something historical last year, Baffert now will merely see what one of his horses can do at the Preakness.
Three times before last year, Baffert had won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness before falling short in the Belmont. Once he finished the job last year, he considered retiring after 20 years and 12 victories in Triple Crown races.
"It was like, 'What else can I do?'" Baffert said. "It hit me a little bit, like, 'Do I walk away?' Where am I going to walk to? Nogales, Arizona?"
After winning more than 2,600 races, Baffert wasn't ready to quit just yet.
"It's still fun to compete," he said. "It's fun to come here. This is why we do it — I'm a competitor. The juices are still flowing.
"I would go crazy if I didn't train horses. I'd go nuts. I still have a few to go."
Desormeaux recalls Nyquist victories: It's no secret by now that Nyquist has been Exaggerator's nemesis all year, most recently in the Kentucky Derby on May 7, when Nyquist edged Exaggerator by 1 ¼ lengths. That time, Nyquist and Gun Runner sat behind pace-setting Danzing Candy, but Nyquist pulled ahead and Exaggerator couldn't make up the deficit.
On Wednesday, after Exaggerator jogged two miles at Pimlico to prepare to face Nyquist once again, trainer Keith Desormeaux recalled two other occasions when he thought he was in good position to upend the undefeated Nyquist.
The first was on Sept. 26, 2015, in Santa Anita, Calif., where Desormeaux's Swipe raced Nyquist in the FrontRunner Stakes.
Swipe hooked Nyquist, Desormeaux remembered, "and Nyquist dug down again."
Then, on Feb. 15, Desormeaux was even more confident that he was about to beat Nyquist, this time at the San Vicente Stakes in Santa Anita. Nyquist broke well and set a fast pace in front, but Desormeaux recalled him being rushed, while Exaggerator sat close behind, more reserved. Desormeaux didn't think Nyquist could keep up the pace all the way.
"I think we got to his shoulder, maybe, and the dang horse re-broke," Desormeaux said. "He's just a phenomenal horse, and he's tough to beat, but it's fun trying."