2018 Preakness Stakes Odds: Justify Towers Over Field

The rains in Baltimore just keep coming and it looks as if there will be a sloppy main track later this afternoon when they load a field of eight into the gate for the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1).

The track is officially listed as sloppy this morning and there are thunderstorms in the forecast for this afternoon. Mother Nature has knocked the racing off the turf on the Preakness Day undercard except for the $150,000 Gallorette (G3) which as of this morning is still going on the grass, which will be soft.

With the Kentucky Derby (G1) decided over a sloppy track, it is no mystery how the betting favorite Justify will handle the off going. The Bob Baffert trainee rolled to a 2 ½ length victory in the slop at Churchill Downs and also beat first level optional claimers in his second career start in the mud at Santa Anita.

The colt is the current 4-9 betting favorite in the latest Preakness betting odds at Bovada.

Good Magic And The Rest Of The Field

Derby runner-up Good Magic is the second choice in early Preakness betting at Bovada at 3-1. His second in the Derby was his first trip over a wet track and he handled it well.

There are four new shooters in the Preakness field and several may move forward over a wet track.

Quip comes into the Preakness off a runner-up finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1). The colt won the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) in his previous start and had enough Derby points, but his connections elected to skip the Run for the Roses.

The colt is bred to relish the off going, by the sire Distorted Humor out of an Indian Charlie mare. The colt is 15-1 in early Preakness odds at Bovada.

Sporting Chance is one of two sent out by D. Wayne Lukas, who has won the Preakness six times including with upset winner Oxbow in 2013 at 15-1. The colt has been on off tracks three times including his win in the Hopeful (G1) last September at Saratoga.

Diamond King (20-1) won the Federico Tesio at Laurel Park in his last outing and will be running over an off track for the first time. This colt has a strong off-track pedigree, by Quality Road out of a Malibu Moon mare. He will be saddled by trainer John Servis, who won the Preakness in 2004 with Smarty Jones.

Tenfold (35-1) will be sent out by trainer Steve Asmussen, a two-time Preakness winning trainer. The colt was fifth in the Arkansas Derby in his last start and this will be his first start over an off track.

This colt also should not have a problem handling an off track. He is by Curlin, the 2007 Preakness winner and out of a Tapit mare.

Even Derby also rans Bravazo (20-1) and Lone Sailor (20-1), who were sixth and eighth respectively in the Derby have decent off track pedigrees.

While Mother Nature will affect the infield party at Pimlico and the lousy weather has led to a lot of scratches in the turf races, the eight going to the post in the Preakness have mostly shown they can handle an off track or are bred to do so.

Check out Bovada for a complete list of prop and matchup wagering on the Preakness Stakes.

Preakness Stakes betting trends and facts

Odds as of May 19 at Bovada. Article written on May 19.

Handicapper Michael Dempsey will be covering the Triple Crown for OddsShark and his full card reports with selections, analysis, fair odds line and wagering recommendations for major tracks can be found daily at turfnsport.com.

Archived Articles

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Justify will face seven foes in the $1.5-million Preakness Stakes (G1) on Saturday and his bandwagon is about as full as it can get.

The Bob Baffert trainee is now at -225 in early Preakness betting odds at Bovada, a strong favorite to continue his Triple Crown bid.

Baffert has brought four Derby winners to Baltimore, and he has been perfect with them, including American Pharoah, who went on to become the first Triple Crown winner in nearly four decades in 2015.

Can history repeat itself so soon?

Good Magic second in Preakness odds

Horseplayers certainly think so, making Justify a solid favorite with Derby runner-up Good Magic the second choice in early Preakness wagering at Bovada at odds of +325.

There are two other Derby alums seeking to pull off the upset, sixth-place finisher Bravazo (+1800) and eighth-place finisher Lone Sailor (+2000).

Among the new shooters, Quip is the shortest price at +1400, the third choice in early Preakness wagering at Bovada. The colt had enough Derby points to earn a trip to Louisville, but his connections elected to hold him out for the Preakness.

The colt won the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and ran second in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in his last two starts. The colt is owned in part by WinStar and China Horse Club, the same owners as Justify.

Diamond King trainer won 2004 Preakness

Diamond King won the local prep, the Federico Tesio, and is listed at odds of +2000. He is trained by John Servis, who trained 2004 Preakness winner Smarty Jones.

The other new shooters are long shots Tenfold at +3300 and Sporting Chance at +4000.

Bovada is offering a wide variety of prop bets including what place Justify will finish. While he is -225 to win, he can be bet to run second at +250 and third at +500. If you think he will finish eighth and last, his odds are +3000.

Horseplayers can also wager on the margin of victory of the winner. The odds on one length or more is -250 and less than one length is currently listed at +200.

Check out Bovada for a complete list of prop and matchup wagering on the Preakness Stakes.

Preakness Stakes betting trends and facts

Odds as of May 19 at Bovada. Article written on May 17.

Handicapper Michael Dempsey will be covering the Triple Crown for OddsShark and his full card reports with selections, analysis, fair odds line and wagering recommendations for major tracks can be found daily at turfnsport.com.

Archives

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Justify will be a strong favorite in the upcoming Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 19 as it appears he will face a small field that may include just a couple of runners he beat in Louisville.

The Bob Baffert trainee is currently listed at -200 in early Preakness betting odds at Bovada.

Justify is listed at odds of +140 to win the Triple Crown, with “no winner” coming back at -185.

In the Derby, the colt prompted the early pace of Promises Fulfilled, took command and then held off the stalking Good Magic by 2 ½ lengths, returning his backers $7.80 and completing a $2 exacta that paid $69.60.

Good Magic just held on to the runner-up spot over the late-running Audible, who came up the rail with a rally to finish third.

Good Magic’s trainer Chad Brown did not rule out coming back in two weeks in the Preakness, which surprised many.

Good Magic second in odds at +450

After the race, Brown said his colt would not run in the Preakness but he changed his tune by Sunday morning, leaving the door open for a Preakness start.

“I’ve got an idea, but I’ve got to wait until I talk to the owners,” Brown said. “I’ll get their thoughts on it and let them weigh in on it. I’ll tell them what I see and see what they want to do. I think for me to rule it out this morning would be foolish. I don’t want to get into a situation where I commit to one way or another and I change my mind. I want to give myself a little room to really observe the horse. The horse will tell us.”

The colt is listed at +450 in early Preakness wagering odds at Bovada.

Others that Bovada has listed that ran in the Derby include My Boy Jack at +1600, but his trainer Keith Desormeaux said the colt, who ran a good fifth and took lots of action, bet down from his +3000 morning line to +700, would not head to Baltimore.

The Bill Mott-trained Hofburg, who was seventh in the Derby, is not likely to wheel back in the Preakness.

One that will is the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Bravazo, who was sixth in the Derby at +6600. His Preakness odds stand at +2500.

Lukas said he also is pointing Sporting Chance to the Preakness and is at odds of +3300. The colt ran fourth in the Pat Day Mile (G3) on the Derby Day undercard.

Diamond King is the third choice in Preakness betting at +1600 and will start. The colt won the Federico Tesio at Laurel Park April 21.

ownership could complicate Quip entry

Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner Quip, who was the runner-up in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in his last start, skipped the Derby to wait for the Preakness despite having enough points to get into the Run for the Roses.

However, he is owned by China Horse Club, WinStar and SF Racing. WinStar owns part of Justify, which could complicate things.

WinStar CEO Elliott Walden said, “I hesitate to say right now. We’ll see how the week plays out. My first inclination is to go ahead and run him, but we need to talk to our partners and see. But we’d set the horse up to run in the Preakness and he worked very well on Thursday.

“If Justify is supposed to win the Triple Crown, he’ll beat Quip,” Walden added. “I just think you try to manage your horses the best you can and that it’s the right thing for Quip. Not making a final decision today. The horse is doing really well, and we’ll see.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher had four runners in the Derby, but he tends to skip the Preakness and await the Belmont. Bovada has Noble Indy at +6600. The colt ran 17th in the Derby and it seems doubtful he is headed to Pimlico.

We could see a few additions or subtractions before the end of this week.

Odds as of May 17 at Bovada. Article written on May 7.

Handicapper Michael Dempsey will be covering the Triple Crown for OddsShark and his full card reports with selections, analysis, fair odds line and wagering recommendations for major tracks can be found daily at turfnsport.com.