Enter Metallica: Sandman has some hard-rocking fans going into the Preakness

BALTIMORE (AP) — Mark Casse was not a Metallica guy until he began training Sandman. Now he is a big fan.

The band has returned the favor.

Front man James Hetfield met the horse at Churchill Downs before the Kentucky Derby, and he and the rest of Metallica filmed a video for Casse and Co. wishing Sandman well in the Preakness this weekend.

“We’re excited to cheer on the people’s horse, Sandman, who’s heading to Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore this Saturday for the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown,” Hetfield said. “Metallica would like to wish Sandman and his awesome team good luck for a safe and winning trip at Preakness 150. Enter Sandman!”

Metallica also sent shirts to outfit the entire Casse Racing operation. Casse sent a hat signed by Hetfield to a friend and received in return a pair of Metallica-logoed underwear.

“I will be wearing them,” Casse said. “There’ll be no stone unturned.”

Sandman could use luck turning in his favor after finishing seventh in the Derby. Accustomed to being in the back of the pack, he struggled in the slop as he had more mud kicked back in his face than normal because of the 18 horses ahead of him.

“He just never got comfortable,” Casse said. “That’s why we’re here. We’re going to throw that one out. Hopefully we get a better track on Saturday, and even if we don’t, we’re only going to have eight horses throwing mud back at us.”

Todd Pletcher-trained River Thames was one of the latest-arriving Preakness horses, getting to Baltimore on Wednesday. The strapping colt took to the track at Pimlico for the first time Thursday morning, galloping a mile under exercise rider Nick Merritt.

“Just trying to keep him happy for the race, essentially,” Merritt said. “Chill, chill horse. He’s taking it all in.”

Pletcher has won the Derby twice and the Belmont Stakes four times. A Preakness victory is the last thing missing from his Triple Crown resume, and River Thames opened as the 9-2 third choice on the morning line after 8-5 favorite Journalism and Sandman at 4-1.

The far corner of the stakes barn at Pimlico during Preakness week has seen many Hall of Fame trainers, including good friends Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas chatting, telling stories and, often, giving each other and anyone within earshot a hard time.

They took their buddy comedy on the road for the annual Alibi Breakfast, roasting and poking some fun at fellow trainers. Lukas said he tried to talk Mike McCarthy out of having Journalism in the No. 40 stall usually reserved for the Kentucky Derby winner.

“That’s the kiss of death — you can’t put him in there,” Lukas said. “I told him to go over and get him into another stall. Bob said: 'No, no, leave him there. Leave him there.' Don’t make him feel comfortable. He’s already got the favorite."

Baffert responded: “The best horse wins the race, Wayne. It doesn’t matter what stall he’s in.”

Lukas and Baffert then turned their attention to Casse, who is based in Ocala, Florida, but is the most accomplished trainer at Woodbine Racetrack outside Toronto.

“We’ve got to watch out for this Mark Casse; he’s won the Sovereign Award as leading trainer in Canada about 35 times or something,” Lukas said.

“What happens in Canada stays in Canada,” Baffert quipped. “It’s like Vegas, OK?”

Lukas chimed back in: “It doesn’t count. Mark, nothing counts in Canada.”

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Trainer Bob Baffert is seen at Pimlico Race Course ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Preakness Stakes entrant River Thames works out at Pimlico Race Course, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Preakness Stakes entrant Sandman is walked around the barn at Pimlico Race Course, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Preakness Stakes entrant Sandman, left, works out at Pimlico Race Course, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Preakness Stakes entrant Sandman is bathed after a workout at Pimlico Race Course, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A former Polish justice minister who faces prosecution in his homeland over alleged abuse of power said Monday that he has been granted asylum in Hungary.

Zbigniew Ziobro was a key figure in the government led by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party that ran Poland between 2015 and 2023. That administration established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher courts with friendly judges and punishing its critics with disciplinary action or assignments to far-away locations.

Current Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government came to power more than two years ago with ambitions to roll back the changes, but efforts to undo them have been blocked by two successive presidents aligned with the national right.

In October, prosecutors requested the lifting of Ziobro's parliamentary immunity to press charges against him. They allege among other things that Ziobro misused a fund for victims of violence, including for the purchase of Israeli Pegasus surveillance software.

Tusk’s party says Law and Justice used Pegasus to spy illegally on political opponents while in power. Ziobro says he acted lawfully.

Hungary, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has hosted several politicians close to Law and Justice while Polish authorities were seeking them.

In a lengthy post on X Monday, Ziobro wrote that he had “decided to accept the asylum granted to me by the government of Hungary due to the political persecution in Poland.”

“I have decided to remain abroad until genuine guarantees of the rule of law are restored in Poland,” he said. “I believe that instead of acquiescing to being silenced and subjected to a torrent of lies — which I would have no opportunity to refute — I can do more by fighting the mounting lawlessness in Poland.”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday that Hungarian authorities have granted asylum to “several” individuals who would face political persecution in Poland, according to his ministry. He declined to specify their names.

In an English-language post on X, Tusk wrote that “the former Minister of Justice(!), Mr. Ziobro, who was the mastermind of the political corruption system, has asked the government of Victor Orbán for political asylum.”

“A logical choice,” he added.

FILE - The leader of the Polish junior coalition partners Zbigniew Ziobro, speaks to reporters alongside in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file)