BALTIMORE — (Special to Sports Talk Florida) – Today the 143ed Preakness Stakes will be run at Pimlico and after five days of rain, with more to come it remains to see just how bad the weather will be as the second jewel of The Triple Crown takes place. The Kentucky Derby was won by Justify, who was the victor of what was called “The wettest derby in history,’ and if he expects to win again today, he will have to run in the rain again today in Baltimore.
With a 90 percent chance of rain when the race is set to post at 6:45 p.m. it throws a bit of uncertainty into the Preakness. As usual, the race will have a smaller field than The Kentucky Derby with a field of eight houses.
Justify will break from the 7th starting position the same spot the colt had in the derby and odds-on favorite at 1-2 making him the biggest since 2008 when Big Brown who was a 1-5 favorite.
But while there are eight horses in this field it really comes down to a two-horse race.
Many horse racing experts like Good Magic and they feel he is the horse that you should be putting some cash down on today in the rain. God Magic will be coming out of the 5th post position at 3-1 odds. He lost by just about two lengths to Justify two weeks ago at Churchill Downs, but many felt he got off to a bad start keeping him from the winner’s circle.
This will be the fourth consecutive year the top-two finishers in the Kentucky Derby have a rematch in the Preakness. In the last two years, the Derby runner-up finished ahead of the Derby winner in the Preakness.
The AP reports: “Trainer Bob Baffert is happy that the bruise on Justify’s left hind foot hasn’t bothered the colt during his morning workouts at Pimlico since arriving Wednesday.
There is no doubt Baffert has an advantage when it comes to running his horses at Pimlico. He has won the Preakness six times — including with all four of his previous Derby winners. The third leg of the Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
Here are the latest odds on the race and the video is from Churchill Downs video.
1. Quip
Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset Jockey: Florent Geroux
Odds:Â 12-1
2. Lone Sailor
Trainer: Tom Amoss Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Odds:Â 15-1
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas Jockey: Luis Contreras
Odds:Â 30-1
4. Diamond King
Trainer: John Servis Jockey: Javier Castellano
Odds:Â 30-1
5. Good Magic
Trainer: Chad Brown Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Odds:Â 3-1
Trainer: Steve Asmussen Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.
Odds: 20-1
7. Justify
Trainer: Bob Baffert Jockey: Mike Smith
Odds:Â 1-2
Drape: He is big. He is fast. He is the Derby winner. But is he more like American Pharoah or Always Dreaming? I’m betting the latter.
Hoppert:Â Sure the Derby winner looks a bit vulnerable, with four races since February and an ailing hoof from the slop, which he is set to encounter again, but is he so good that none of that will matter?
8. Bravazo
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas Jockey: Luis Saez
Odds:Â 20-1