Justify is a heavy favorite to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. The lightly raced horse blitzed the field at the Kentucky Derby and now tops the 2018 Preakness Stakes Odds. Following his impressive performance, only one of the other contenders at the Kentucky Derby decided to enter this field. Good Magic and six others will try to keep Justify from being the first horse since American Pharaoh to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
2018 Preakness Stakes Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Justify 2-5
Good Magic 7-2
Quip 16-1
Diamond King 16-1
Bravazo 20-1
Sporting Chance 22-1
Tenfold 25-1
Lone Sailor 25-1
Justify went off at 5/2 to win the Kentucky Derby and looked the part of the favorite throughout the race. He was able to stay near the front of the pack and turned it on in the backstretch, beating Good Magic by 2 1/2 lengths.
The Curse of Apollo is over!
Justify is the winner of the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. Watch the full race replay, presented by @rocketmortgage. #KyDerby pic.twitter.com/CVkPSPlNhh
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 5, 2018
He is now aiming to become the first horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes that did not run as a two-year-old. Justify proved that his speed numbers were legitimate by posting a 102 in the slop at Churchill Downs. However, his endurance will be tested with only two weeks between races.
The big thing that Justify has going for him is this will be a much weaker field. Of the four horses in this field that also raced in the Derby, only Good Magic was also less than 10-1 just a few weeks ago.
Good Magic has the best chance to beat Justify and will almost certainly go off as the second favorite barring a surprise. He has only posted a speed rating above 100 once in six races though. That came at Del Mar in November of last year, and he has finished with ratings of 99, 98, and 98 in his last three runs.
At the Derby, he looked like he had a chance to make up the ground on Justify. He couldn’t quite get there, but he did finish in second by a comfortable margin. Good Magic is a very good closer and could beat Justify if the Derby winner has a bad run.
Quip is the most interesting horse in this field. He had enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, but his owners decided to rest him and have him be fresh for the Preakness instead. He has not posted a speed rating over 100, yet he will likely push the pace right out of the gate. Quip won the Tampa Bay Derby and finished second at the Arkansas Derby.
Sporting Chance has been disappointing as a three-year-old. There was a lot expected from this horse after he won the Hopeful Stakes as a two-year-old, but he has failed to finish in the top two since then. He has not run in a Grade 1 Stakes Race this year and has struggled to beat weaker fields than other horses faced. Sporting Chance will likely need some help to win the Preakness.
The Preakness Stakes will take place on Saturday, May 19, 2018 and will be broadcast on NBC. The horses are scheduled to post at 6:20 p.m. ET.
