Fansided

Preakness Stakes 2018: Horses list

By Zach Bigalke

(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Kentucky Derby winner Justify heads to Baltimore looking to keep Triple Crown hopes alive. Read more about him and the seven other horses in the Preakness.

The Kentucky Derby offers a world of promise, as 20 horses all crowd together in their post positions and take off for the fastest two minutes in sports. There are 20 dreams of Triple Crown glory when the race begins. By the end of those two minutes, only one dream remains alive.

That makes the storyline a bit different for the following horse races. After the Kentucky Derby, only one horse still has a shot of winning the elusive Triple Crown. The fields get smaller, the stakes get higher, and the focus narrows.

For horse racing fans and casual observers alike, the Preakness Stakes distills down to one question. Will the Kentucky Derby winner wear black-eyed Susans in the winner’s circle at Pimlico?

Keep reading for post positions and more information about the eight horses set to race at Pimlico Park this weekend in Baltimore.

1. Quip

  • JOCKEY: Florent Geroux
  • OWNER: Winstar Farm, China Horse Club International, and SF Racing
  • TRAINER: Rodolphe Brisset
  • BREEDER: Winstar Farm

Leading up to the Triple Crown races, Quip qualified for the Kentucky Derby. But Quip’s staff elected to forgo the trip to Churchill Downs in favor of focusing on the Preakness. Quip qualified by winning the Tampa Bay Derby, then followed that result up with second behind Magnum Moon. The biggest thing working against Quip is an unfavorable post position.

2. Lone Sailor

  • JOCKEY: Irad Ortiz Jr.
  • OWNER: G M B Racing
  • TRAINER: Tom Amoss
  • BREEDER: Alexander-Groves-Matz

Lone Sailor finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby on the sloppy track at Churchill Downs. The horse certainly has the pedigree to be competitive in the Triple Crown races, but has yet to win a graded stakes race. Lone Sailor’s best finish came at the Louisiana Derby, where he finished 2.5 lengths behind Noble Indy.

3. Sporting Chance

  • JOCKEY: Luis Contreras
  • OWNER: Robert C. Baker and William L. Mack
  • TRAINER: D. Wayne Lukas
  • BREEDER: Hunter Valley

Sporting Chance was at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day. But the horse wasn’t in the field of 20 for the Run of the Roses. Instead, Sporting Chance was busy taking fourth in the Pat Day Mile two races earlier on the May 5 program at the racetrack. Jockey Luis Contreras took sixth in this year’s Kentucky Derby atop Bravazo.

4. Diamond King

  • JOCKEY: Javier Castellano
  • OWNER: Cash is King, D.J. Stable, and LC Racing
  • TRAINER: John Servis
  • BREEDER: JSM Equine

Diamond King won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park in April, putting the horse into the Preakness field. The horse’s jockey, Javier Castellano, is the defending Preakness champion after winning last year atop Cloud Computing. Castellano took third in this year’s Kentucky Derby with Audible.

5. Good Magic

  • JOCKEY: Jose Ortiz
  • OWNER: e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables
  • TRAINER: Chad Brown
  • BREEDER: Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings

Good Magic finished behind Justify at the Kentucky Derby. The Blue Grass Stakes winner will be looking to prematurely crush Justify’s Triple Crown dream at Pimlico. Drawn into a favorable post position, Good Magic is the only other horse besides the Derby winner to boast a Beyer Speed Figure in triple digits. Also in his favor is the fact that trainer Chad Brown molded last year’s winner, Cloud Computing.

6. Tenfold

  • JOCKEY: Victor Espinoza
  • OWNER: Winchell Thoroughbreds
  • TRAINER: Steve Asmussen
  • BREEDER: Winchell Thoroughbreds

Tenfold did not race as a two-year-old, waiting until this February to break his maiden. Then the horse missed out on the Kentucky Derby after posting a fifth-place finish at the Arkansas Derby. The horse has never finished in the top three in a stakes race, but has demonstrated major upside. Piloting Tenfold at Pimlico is Victor Espinoza, a three-time winner of the Preakness.

7. Justify

  • JOCKEY: Mike Smith
  • OWNER: WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing, and Head of Plains Partners
  • TRAINER: Bob Baffert
  • BREEDER: John D. Gunther

The Kentucky Derby winner is clearly in the spotlight. Justify drew the same No. 7 post from which he sprang to Derby glory. In a smaller field, seven could prove lucky again. After breaking the Curse of Apollo at Churchill Downs, Justify remains undefeated after beginning his career as a three-year-old. Jockey Mike Smith won the Preakness once before, riding Prairie Bayou to victory way back in 1993. Six Baffert horses have won the Preakness, including 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

8. Bravazo

  • JOCKEY: Luis Saez
  • OWNER: Calumet Farm
  • TRAINER: D. Wayne Lukas
  • BREEDER: Calumet Farm

Rounding out the field at Pimlico for the Preakness Stakes is Bravazo. The Calumet Farms horse took sixth as a long shot at the Kentucky Derby. But his Derby jockey, Luis Contreras, is riding Sporting Chance at the Preakness. In the saddle instead is Luis Saez, an up-and-coming Panamanian rider who rode Magnum Moon to a 19th-place finish at the Kentucky Derby.

Next: Triple Crown 2018: Schedule for Derby, Preakness, Belmont

It is hard to envision anyone from this field of challengers taking down Justify. Look for the Kentucky Derby winner to keep his Triple Crown dreams alive heading into the Belmont Stakes. Look for Diamond King and Good Magic to complete the trifecta, with Quip a potential spoiler.

For more from the Triple Crown, with the Preakness Stakes up next, make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our horse racing hub for all the latest news and results.

Home/Preakness Stakes