Preakness 2018 Results: Justify Wins In Muddy Track To Keep Triple Crown Hopes Alive

The Preakness 2018 results are in, and Justify’s Triple Crown hopes are still alive.

After winning the Kentucky Derby, Justify once again pulled away on a muddy track so filled with fog that the race was difficult to watch for those at home. Bravazo came in second, followed by Tenfold and Good Magic.

Ahead of the Preakness 2018 results, all eyes had been on Justify to take the second leg of the Triple Crown. After breaking the long curse of horses that had not raced in their second year — no horse in 136 years had won the Derby in just the first race of their second year — the Bob Baffert-trained horse came in as a big favorite to win the Preakness as well.

As NPR noted, conditions for the Preakness were nearly identical for Justify. There had been a long and driving rain throughout the day that left the track muddy, just like the Kentucky Derby just a few weeks before. And like in the Run for the Roses, Justify once again drew the seventh post, NPR reported.

There had been some concern for Justify in the week leading up to the Preakness, with a bruise on his left hind foot that some feared would affect his performance. But trainer Bob Baffert said Justify didn’t seem bothered in pre-race workouts.

“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,” the Associated Press reported (via NPR). “If Justify breaks clean and gets over the 1-3/16 mile race with no discomfort in that heel, even the strongest competitors are likely running for second.”

Baffert had quite the track record coming into the Preakness. The last five of his horses to win the Kentucky Derby also won the Preakness.

While Justify was the big favorite ahead of the Preakness results, there were a handful of other horses considered to be strong challengers. The race day odds had Good Magic come in a 3-to-1 odds, and Quip came in at 12-to-1 odds.

As CBS News noted, the field for the Preakness came in very fresh. Only four of the horses in Saturday’s race were also in the Kentucky Derby, and the field overall only had eight horses, the smallest in the last 18 years.

The full results for the Preakness 2018, including payouts, can be found here.