Preakness 2018 Post Positions: Final Projections, Odds Payout and Post Info

As the post time edges closer in the 2018 Preakness Stakes, it's increasingly clear that Justify, the big pre-race favourite, is going to be tough to beat at the Pimlico Race Course.

In a high-class field of 20 horses, Bob Baffert's colt was the class act in the Kentucky Derby, adapting to inclement conditions better than any other and winning by a comfortable margin. In the Preakness, where he can keep chances of the Triple Crown alive with a victory, Justify is expected to thrive in an eight-horse lineup.

The stiffest competition is likely to come from the horse that ran him closest in Churchill Downs, Good Magic, while Quip and Bravazo are outsiders for glory.

Here's a look at the post positions for the second of the Triple Crown races and a preview of what's to come from Baltimore.

Post Positions and Odds

1. Quip (+1400)

2. Lone Sailor (+2000)

3. Sporting Chance (+4000)

4. Diamond King (+2000)

5. Good Magic (+325)

6. Tenfold  (+3300)

7. Justify (-225)

8. Bravazo (+1800)

Figures are courtesy of OddsShark.

Justify Expected to Excel Again

Eclipse Sportswire/Getty Images

Although Justify was well fancied in the buildup to Kentucky, there were others anticipated to provide him with serious competition. In the end, the colt made the Run for the Roses look like a stroll in the rain.

Here's a reminder of how Justify got the job done, breaking the Apollo Curse in the process:

The curse in question was that no horse that hadn't debuted as a two-year-old had won the Derby since Apollo in 1882.

The benefits of being held back as a juvenile may well benefit Justify as he goes in search of not only a win at Pimlico, but to follow it up at the Belmont Stakes in New York, when the Triple Crown may well be up for grabs.

That is, of course, providing all goes well at Pimlico and injury alludes him. There were some concerns after Kentucky that Justify was carrying a knock on his heel, and on what is forecast to be another sloppy surface in Baltimore, the conditions could hinder his progress.

Baffert has said he is "not really worried" about a possible problem ahead of the race, though, per Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier Journal. 

"I think it's behind us," Baffert said. "He had that one day, but after that, he's been really good on it. I put a full shoe back on it, and he went out there and didn't feel a thing. Those things, you just don't know when they're going to sneak up on you."

Travis Stone, the announcer at Churchill Downs, said he has some concerns about the favourite going into Preakness:

However, per the race's official Twitter account, jockey Mike Smith has talked up the horse's Triple Crown pedigree:

If Justify is below his best, then the door may open for Good Magic this time around. He was an impressive second in the Derby, and despite picking up a fair degree of kickback from the eventual champion, he was able to hold his position well in the final stages.

Should the top two from Kentucky feel the effects of that race, then some fresh horses may capitalise. Quip has been held back for this one and has shown he can be a threat after a win in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Still, unless something out of the ordinary does go wrong on Saturday for the favourite, it's hard to look past Baffert's colt. After the iconic trainer guided American Pharoah to a Triple Crown in 2015, Justify will set him up with another chance of an incredible treble at Belmont.

Prediction: 1. Justify  2. Good Magic  3. Quip