Trainer Rick Dutrow strolled into Louisville two weeks ago eager to prove to the world just how good Big Brown was.

Breaking from post 20 – a stall no horse had won the Derby from in 79 years — and charting a wide journey throughout, his authoritative victory accomplished just that.

Now, Dutrow arrives in Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes simply hoping to pass this second jewel of the Triple Crown with a chance to make history on the first Saturday in June still in tact.

It’s not that Dutrow lacks confidence in his colt’s chances, although the bravado has certainly been toned down from the days preceding the Derby, and five of the last six odds-on Preakness favorites have fallen.

Big Brown entered the Run for the Roses facing inferior rivals, and ready to run the race of his life. Entering the Preakness, he again meets a field he towers over, yet returning on just two weeks rest is a source of concern.

On paper, the connections of Big Brown should be sleeping very easily. He is the only Grade 1 winner in the group, and five of his 11 rivals remain eligible for an entry-level allowance condition. He will also be bet accordingly at the windows, going off at odds closer to 2-5 than the 2-1 he returned at Churchill Downs.

Beyond Big Brown, the remainder of the Preakness field — which lost the Todd Pletcher-trained Behindatthebar on Friday morning with a foot bruise — is very well-matched.

From the rail out…

Macho Again ran his best race to date when nearly establishing a new track record in winning the Derby Trial, a race he finished strongly and galloped out extremely well.

Tres Borrachos figures to be chasing the pace through the early stages, and just doesn’t appear fast enough to cover the Preakness distance in competitive time.

Icabad Crane is a New York-bred who likewise needs to find an addition gear or two in order to make an impact, and may take considerable money given the fact he owns a win over this strip and the presence of jockey Jeremy Rose (remember Afleet Alex?).

Yankee Bravo ran well in his only previous start on dirt, beaten just over three lengths in the Louisiana Derby, yet wonder if one mile is about as far as he wants to go.

Jockey Robby Albarado looks to win this race in consecutive years as the rider of Racecar Rhapsody. This son of Tale of the Cat is the lone starter to boast of four consecutive graded stakes appearances, yet routinely leaves himself with too much to do as his lack of early speed will place him at the tail of the field early on. He was flying at the end of the Lexington, and will be passing many of these through the latter stages.

Kentucky Bear trained like a bear leading to the Kentucky Derby, but was excluded from the field with insufficient graded stakes earnings. With just three prior races under his belt, vast improvement isn’t out of the question.

Stevil hasn’t tasted victory since his career debut, and has failed to hit the board in both prior graded stakes tries.

Riley Tucker has also gone a long time without a win, and appears overmatched in here despite the Hall of Fame tandem of Bill Mott and Edgar Prado.

Giant Moon has run just one poor race, that coming in the sloppy Gotham at Aqueduct earlier this spring, so you can’t blame the connections for taking a shot at a minor award.

Gayego joins Big Brown as the only Derby runners to come back for the Preakness, and although he was beaten the length of the stretch and now ships back cross-country, would be cautious to discount his chances for a piece.

Hey Byrn will be making his first start outside of Florida, and despite winning the Holy Bull most recently, worked way too hard to do so versus a soft group.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux indicated that Big Brown had already cooled out by the time he removed the saddle after the Derby, so the quick return should prove of little consequence, especially given the soft cast of challengers he faces in Baltimore today. Among those with hopes of slaying the dragon, give preference to Macho Again, Racecar Rhapsody, Gayego and Kentucky Bear.