The field has been drawn for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, and Justify is already the toast of the town. After winning the Kentucky Derby by 2 ½ lengths over Good Magic, Justify opened as the 1/2 favorite for the Preakness and quickly moved to 4/9 on the horse racing futures market at Bovada Racebook. Good Magic is second at 13/4.

Wednesday’s post position draw went Justify’s way, too. He drew post No. 7, just like he did at the Kentucky Derby; Good Magic drew Post No. 5, while third favorite Quip has slipped to 14/1 at press time after drawing the inside rail. Post position might not matter too much in this eight-horse race, but only two horses have won the Preakness from the 5-hole and another two from the 1-hole since 1987, compared to six horses from post No. 7.
 

Analyzing the 2018 Preakness Stakes Betting Odds


While Quip is losing ground on the Preakness Stakes favorites, Diamond King (post No. 4) has moved from fourth on the list at 16/1 to fifth at 20/1. Diamond King is coming off a victory at the Federico Tesio Stakes on April 21, hosted at nearby Laurel Park. He’ll be fresh for the Preakness after skipping the Kentucky Derby. Quip is also well-rested after finishing second at the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 14.

Joining the “shooters” in Saturday’s race are the two longest shots on the board: Sporting Chance (post No. 3, 40/1 odds), who placed fourth at the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on May 5, and Tenfold (post No. 6, 33/1 odds), who was fifth at the Arkansas Derby.
 

Lone Sailor’s Odds to Win the Preakness Stakes Are Sinking


Aside from Justify and Good Magic, there are only two other horses in Saturday’s field who ran in the Kentucky Derby. Bravazo (post No. 8) moved from 20/1 to 18/1, while Lone Sailor (post No. 2) has plummeted from 15/1 to 20/1. Post No. 2 has only produced one Preakness winner since 1986: last year’s winner, Cloud Computing.

As if Justify needed any more help, it looks like the weather conditions for Saturday’s race will be the same they were at Churchill Downs: sloppy. It’s raining at Pimlico as we go to press, and it’s expected to keep raining off and on until Sunday, with possible torrential rains in the forecast for Friday. This year’s Kentucky Derby ended up being the wettest on record. Stay tuned to Bovada Racebook for more news and updated odds as we get closer to the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.

 

*Odds as of May 17, 2018