BALTIMORE — Like all those horse racing fans desperate for a Triple Crown winner, Bob Baffert wants to see American Pharoah take the next step and win the 140th Preakness Stakes on Saturday. But he wants Dortmund to win, too.
As the trainer for two horses in an eight-horse field, Baffert has doubled his chances of winning the second leg of this year's Triple Crown, with post time at Pimlico scheduled for 6:37 p.m. Considering the speed and strength of his two entries — Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah is the 4-5 morning-line favorite, with Dortmund the second choice at 7-2 — there's an assumption by many that Baffert can't lose, and won't lose.
Baffert just wants to win. And in his professional opinion, whichever horse sends him to the winner's circle matters not.
"I'm here to try and win the Preakness," he said. "That's my No. 1 goal, whether it's Dortmund or American Pharoah.
"I know everybody puts all their weight on the Triple Crown: 'We need it, horse racing needs it.' Hey, we need to put on a good show when we come to these races, that's what it's all about.
"The Derby was a great show. I think the fans are going to get a great show on Saturday."
Having a trainer divide his or her time working with horses that will compete against each other in the same race is not unusual. But having it happen in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, or Belmont makes it newsworthy. Even if it's quite common.
Since 1995, there have been 17 times when a trainer had multiple entries in the Preakness. On three of those occasions, a trainer had three horses in the field. In 1995, a trainer who had the Derby winner saw his other entry win the Preakness, ending the chance for a Triple Crown winner. That year, Timber Country, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, beat Lukas-trained Derby winner Thunder Gulch, who finished third at Pimlico.
"Wayne's been here before," said Baffert. "He beat himself, he beat his Derby winner one year. I don't think Wayne felt bad about it when he left here."
Responded Lukas, "Like Bob said, you won't be disappointed if you upset the Derby winner, because there's a lot of races down the line. You're representing two different clients. You've just got to go out there and do the best and hope that one of them gets there.
"He's in a great position. I'd like to trade places with him."
Two years ago, Lukas was the trainer for three of the nine horses in the Preakness, including the winner, Oxbow.
The key, Baffert and Lukas agree, is not to show any favoritism, since the horses will have different ownership groups, each putting their faith in the trainer that the horse will be prepared to run the best race possible. It's all a trainer can do. Once the gate opens, a variety of variables collide, almost always disrupting the way even the most astute handicapper predicted the race would go.
"My clients understand our barn," said Baffert. "They come to me because they feel like they have an edge by having me train them, because they know I've been through all this. We're so used to this, so used to running multiple horses in multiple races."
As for the expectation — or assumption — that Baffert would spend more time this week with American Pharoah than Dortmund?
"They get the same treatment," he said. "It runs very smooth. We're like a well-oiled machine. Everybody knows their thing. I have great assistants.
"I never worry about anything like that. We've been doing it so long. We're used to the pressures that come with it, and handle it like it's another race. We don't get too caught up in all the excitement."
Lukas said that when he's had more than one horse in a Triple Crown race, he'll take steps to make sure each horse gets equal attention.
"I saddle [the horses] in order," he said. "I don't want [horse owners] to ever think I'm showing any favoritism. I'm very careful about that.
"Give them equal time, give them every opportunity, then let the gate open and see what happens. It's not that tough."
Playful, good-natured, and quick with a story or joke, Lukas even recalled a memorable stakes race when he had more than one horse in the field.
"I've been in a situation where I had two of my key clients, big clients, and I owned a horse, and we were in a stake, all three of us," Lukas said. "I'm standing in the middle, and guess who's winning? I just looked at them and said, 'My turn, boys.' "
Lukas also couldn't resist taking a jab at Baffert, the only trainer here with multiple Preakness entries.
"There isn't a doubt that Bob's got an affinity for American Pharoah over Dortmund now — let's be realistic," Lukas said. "But I'm sure he's going to handle that well."
Baffert handled it well in 2001, when he came to Pimlico with two horses, both expected to run well. (Sound familiar?) Back then, the co-favorite was the Baffert-trained Point Given, who had finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby behind Monarchos, the winner and fellow Preakness co-favorite. Point Given went out and won the Preakness by more than 2 lengths, with Baffert's other entry, Congaree, taking third. Monarchos was sixth.
Another 1-3 finish would suit Baffert just fine.
"As trainers, when they turn for home, you're hoping that your horses are there and at least have something to scream and cheer for," said Baffert, who has won the Preakness five times, most recently in 2010.
"It's a strong field, there's some really good 3-year-olds in there, and I happen to have two really good horses.
"Going into the race, we all feel like we have a chance to win. If not, you're in the wrong game."
. . .
Keen Pauline paid $32.80, $10.80, and $5.80. Ahh Chocolate finished third, and Danessa Deluxe was fourth in the $250,000, Grade 2 race for 3-year-old fillies.
JOE SULLIVAN'S PICKS: 1. American Pharoah; 2. Dortmund; 3. Danzig Moon.
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Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeWhitmer.