Mystik Dan trainer, jockey, owner, record and more to know about 2024 Kentucky Derby horse
Jason Frakes
Mystik Dan is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2024 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 27. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.
Mystik Dan will enter the Kentucky Derby off a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 30 at Oaklawn Park. He currently ranks 17th on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 46.
Mystik Dan
Color: Bay
Bred in: Kentucky
Sire: Goldencents
Dam: Ma’am, by Colonel John
Price tag: Homebred
Owners: Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing (Brent Gasaway), Daniel Hamby, first Derby for all.
Trainer: Kenny McPeek, 0 for 9 in Derby. Best finish was second with Tejano Run in 1995.
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr., 0 for 4 in Derby. Best finish was eighth with McCraken in 2017.
Record: 2-1-1 in six starts
Career earnings: $641,360
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 46 (No. 17)
Last race: Third in Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 30 at Oaklawn
Running style: Has displayed a mix of early speed and closing
Notes: Mystik Dan broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in November. He won the Grade 3 Southwest on Feb. 3 at Oaklawn Park before his third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby. … Ma’am, the dam owned by the Gasaways and Hamby, was 4-3-5 in 23 starts from 2016-18. She won a claiming race at Churchill Downs in 2017. … Lance and Brent Gasaway are cousins and join Hamby as Arkansas natives.
What they’re saying: “We went around the first turn and got knocked pretty good by (Liberal Arts),” Hernandez said after the Arkansas Derby. "It was pretty hard and kind of cost us some position. But our horse, you’ve got to be proud of him. He ran on nicely, and picking up third was big.”
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Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.