Justify outlasted Good Magic to win the Kentucky Derby, and judging by the experts we could see a repeat of that result on Saturday at the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Corwn on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Preakness Stakes 2018 predictions: Experts see Justify & Good Magic in a 2-horse race
Justify & Good Magic finished first and second in the Kentucky Derby.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Justify will start from the seventh post in the eight-horse field, and Good Magic fifth.
Of the 11 pickers at Horse Racing Nation, seven picked Justify and three others picked Justify to finish second. Good Magic was tabbed to win by three HRN experts and picked to finish second seven other times and third once.
At the New York Times, Melissa Hoppert picked Justify to finish first and Good Magic second, while Joe Drape had Good Magic second and Justify third. Drape had Sporting Chance as the winner of the Preakness, as did Candice Curtis at HRN, even though this most aptly named horse has the longest odds, 30-1 at the morning line.
At America’s Best Racing both Bob Ehalt and Tom Pedulla picked Justify to win.
“Baffert is a master at wheeling horses right back in the Preakness and it didn’t seem like the Derby tired Justify at all,” Ehalt wrote. “His camp doesn’t seem worried about the foot issues and that’s good enough for me. Get ready for Baffert taking another shot at a Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.”
Liam Durbin at the Baltimore Sun also tabbed Justify to win on Saturday:
“What makes Justify more of an obvious choice than most years is his running style. When a horse wins the Derby on the lead, as Justify did, he obviously did not benefit or suffer from the notoriously difficult Derby traffic. He simply outran the field. And since the Preakness is very similar to the Derby, there is no reason he cannot do it again.”
NBCSN will begin Saturday’s television coverage from Pimlico, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., with NBC following suit from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. The Preakness Stakes has a post time of 6:48 p.m.
Online streaking is available through NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
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