2018 Preakness Odds Favor Justify To Win At Pimlico After Kentucky Derby Victory


Race books are favoring Justify, the winner of the 2018 Kentucky Derby, to win the Preakness Stakes this evening at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.

The horse, trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, is enjoying heavy odds, currently sitting at 1-2 in the No. 7 position. He hasn’t had a winner at the Preakness since American Pharaoh captured the Triple Crown in 2015. With jockey Victor Espinoza urging him on, American Pharaoh broke a nearly 30-year drought in horse racing, becoming the first horse to capture the glory since Affirmed did so in 1978 with Steve Cauthen aboard.

The horse racing world will see if Justify can come one race closer to the Triple Crown at 6:48 p.m. Eastern, the official post time, as reported by the New York Times. Jockey Mike Smith will ride the chestnut brown 3-year-old. Smith, 52, is a Hall of Fame jockey and is seeking his second-career Preakness win, his first coming in 1993 riding Prairie Bayou.

“Last year, Smith won an astonishing 15 Grade 1 races, the most since he won 20 back in 1994. Of those, nine were with Baffert trainees, a partnership that really blossomed in 2016 when Smith rode Arrogate to wins in the Travers and Breeders’ Cup Classic,” USA Today reports.

Baffert, himself a legend in horse racing, has not been shy about how much faith he has in Justify, heading into the Preakness. In fact, as the Inquisitr previously reported, he recently compared the WinStar Racing-owned colt to the current king of the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James. When asked by TMZ to compare Justify to American Pharaoh, Baffert said, “Oh, he’s up there with him, yeah. Outstanding horse.”

“He looks like LeBron. He’s big, powerful, athletic, fast. Very rare. Very rare. He’s a beast.”

While the odds will still fluctuate up until betting closes, Justify is the clear favorite, heading into the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Program Number Horse
Owner
Weight
Trainer
M/L Odds
Jockey
Odds
1 QUIP

WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International Ltd. and SF Racing LLC

126

Rodolphe Brisset

12/1

Florent Geroux

2 LONE SAILOR

G M B Racing

126

Thomas Amoss

15/1

Irad Ortiz, Jr.

3 SPORTING CHANCE

Baker, Robert C. and Mack, William L.

126

D. Lukas

30/1

Luis Contreras

4 DIAMOND KING

Cash is King LLC, D. J. Stable LLC and LC Racing LLC

126

John Servis

30/1

Javier Castellano

5 GOOD MAGIC

Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables LLC

126

Chad Brown

3/1

Jose Ortiz

6 TENFOLD

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC

126

Steven Asmussen

20/1

Ricardo Santana, Jr.

7 JUSTIFY

China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Starlight Racing, WinStar Farm

126

Bob Baffert

1/2

Mike Smith

8 BRAVAZO

Calumet Farm

126

D. Lukas

20/1

Luis Saez

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