Preakness 2018 Horses: Triple Crown Insight and Final Pre-Race Odds

Justify created all kinds of hype around a potential Triple Crown at the Kentucky Derby. The Preakness could be where that buzz hits a fever pitch heading into June 9's Belmont Stakes. 

All eyes will once again be on the Bob Baffert-trained colt when the eight-horse field hits the track at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland. 

The Derby winner will see three competitors from Churchill Downs—Lone Sailor, Good Magic and Bravazo—alongside four three-year-olds that sat out the festivities in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Justify is the considerable favorite with not many standing a chance to challenge him in a meaningful way, according to the latest odds from OddsShark. 

Here's a look at the latest odds and what this race means for Justify's Triple Crown odds.  

Post Positions and Odds

1. Quip: 14-1

2. Lone Sailor: 20-1

3. Sporting Chance: 40-1

4. Diamond King: 20-1

5. Good Magic: 13-4

6. Tenfold: 33-1

7. Justify: 11-25

8. Bravazo 18-1

Preakness Information

When: Saturday, May 19; post time at 6:20 p.m. ET

Where: Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports App, FuboTV

Not only is Justify a huge favorite going into the race, but Vegas also has him pegged as having a fairly good shot at becoming the 13th horse to capture all three jewels in the Triple Crown. He's currently listed at 3-2 to win both the Preakness and the Belmont, per OddsShark. 

Bob Baffert is another major reason to believe the colt will take the second leg of the Triple Crown. His horses are 4-for-4 in the Preakness after winning the Derby, with the Belmont being the most beguiling for him to find success at. 

Then there's this field. 

There's always a chance that a horse comes from nowhere to pull off the upset, but the field contains slim pickings. 

The biggest threat would appear to be the familiar one. Good Magic has the second-best odds after his second-place finish at the Derby. Trainer Chad Brown was originally non-committal about running his horse in Baltimore but obviously came around.

"I want to give myself a little room to really observe the horse," Brown said after the Derby, per Pimlico.com. "The horse will tell us."

Given Good Magic's entry into the fold, there's a good chance that Brown believes his colt could succeed after it came up short against Justify in Round 1. 

However, as Chris Fallica of ESPN notes, runners-up don't often win the rematch:

From there, the next best challenger might be another Derby runner in Bravazo. The D. Wayne Lukas-trained colt finished in sixth place in Louisville, but he might benefit from the smaller field in Baltimore. 

He had to avoid the inside flow of the 20-horse field two weeks ago, resulting in a slightly longer trip than the likes of Justify and Good Magic. So, going a comparable distance might bring that margin of victory a little closer this time around. 

Then there are the horses that didn't participate in the Derby. They could ostensibly be more fresh, but some of them also didn't qualify for the Run for the Roses. 

That isn't the case for Quip, though. His connections thought it would be best to give him the extra time to prepare for the Preakness and Baffert believes he'll be one of the horses that makes this field a challenge.

"It's tough," Baffert said, per the Associated Press (via NBC Sports). "We have Good Magic, who I have a lot of respect for. He's a champion. Ran second to us. He's right there with us. … And then you've got Quip. He's a really good horse. He's fast."

The colt won the Tampa Bay Derby and finished second in the Arkansas Derby. The talent is there for him to have some success, but his post position should be enough to turn off potential bettors. 

The No. 1 spot has produced just one winner since 1994: Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Quip might be talented, but he ain't American Pharoah. The only horse that might eventually command comparisons to Pharoah in this field is Justify. 

In fact, it's a comparison that Baffert has already entertained. 

"He's a superior horse, just like American Pharoah," the trainer said, per Horse Racing Nation. "What he's done in that short 75 days to win the Kentucky Derby, to go, go, go—and he ran with some good horses—he makes my job a lot easier."

It's a comparison that's only going to grow louder with a win in the Preakness.

Considering the field, his talent and Baffert's experience, it would appear the grueling Belmont Stakes is truly the only challenge to Justify etching his name in the history books.