2018 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview

Justify will take the track in the 2018 Preakness Stakes as a huge favorite this weekend as he attempts to add the second jewel of the Triple Crown alongside his Kentucky Derby win.

Justify leads the pack from a small eight-horse field in the Preakness. At Bovada Sportsbook, he’s heavily favored at -225, as he tries to become the first horse since Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015 to follow up a Derby win with a victory in the Preakness. Coincidentally, Justify’s trainer Bob Baffert also trained American Pharoah and in total he’s sent six horses to the winner’s circle in the Preakness.

A win in the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course would also maintain Justify’s perfect racing record. In five career starts, all as a three-year-old, Justify has never been beaten.

In the eight-horse Preakness field, only three horses from the Derby return to challenge Justify again. They are Good Magic, Bravazo and Lone Sailor.

Good Magic second in Preakness odds

According to the oddsmakers, Good Magic appears to have the best chance of ending Justify’s Triple Crown bid. He finished second in the Derby and is getting the best Preakness odds at Bovada Sportsbook after Justify at +300. In his racing career, Good Magic has never finished worse than third, with wins in the Blue Grass Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Bravazo and Lone Sailor share +2000 odds. Bravazo is trained by D. Wayne Lukas, who has trained six previous Preakness winners, with the last being Oxbow in 2013. Bravazo finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby, which followed a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby.

Lone Sailor placed second in the Louisiana Derby, and was near the middle of the pack in the Kentucky Derby in eighth place. He’s trained by Thomas M. Amoss, who’s still looking for his first win in a Triple Crown race.

Among the horses in the Preakness that did not race in the Kentucky Derby, the best odds are going to Quip at +1400. He last raced in the Arkansas Derby where he finished second, and prior to that he won the Tampa Bay Derby.

Rounding out the rest of the Preakness field are Diamond King at +2000, Tenfold at +3300 and Sporting Chance, another D Wayne Lukas entry, at +4000.