Two down, one to go for Justify.
The 3-year-old colt is two-thirds of the way to horse racing's Triple Crown after winning the 143rd Preakness Stakes on Saturday at foggy Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Justify, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, defeated seven competitors on a sloppy track as the heavy 2-5 betting favorite.
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"These great horses, they just define themselves when they get in that situation, and today, he just showed not only is he a big, beautiful, gorgeous horse, but he is all racehorse, and that’s what it took to win today," Baffert told reporters, per The Baltimore Sun.
Next up is the Belmont Stakes, assuming Justify is entered. Only 12 horses have won the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes) in more than 130 years of competition. American Pharoah, in 2015, was the last horse to accomplish the feat.
The Belmont will be run June 9 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
TRIPLE CROWN: What time is the Belmont Stakes?
Who won the 2018 Preakness Stakes?
Justify won the 143rd Preakness Stakes, defeating seven competitors on a sloppy track. Justify won a stretch duel with pacesetter Good Magic.
"They tested his fitness today," Smith told reporters (video via the Sun). "(Good Magic, ridden by Jose Ortiz) went at him early. He kind of kept pushing on him and pushing on him and pushing on me, pushing on me, trying to see if they could wear me out, I'm sure. Again, (I'm) blessed to be on a horse with this much talent."Kentucky Derby ✅
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 19, 2018
Preakness ✅
Belmont 🔲
Justify is just one win away from the #TripleCrown ! Watch the full #Preakness race replay, presented by @rocketmortgage . pic.twitter.com/mNzS6NjZZE
The Preakness results
| #-Horse | Win | Place | Show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-Justify | 2.80 | 2.80 | 2.60 |
| 8-Bravazo | 7.60 | 4.80 | |
| 6-Tenfold | 6.80 | ||
| 5-Good Magic |
$2 exacta (7-8) paid $27.40; $0.50 trifecta (7-8-6) paid $74.15; $0.10 superfecta (7-8-6-5) paid $37.25.
MORE: Remembering Pimlico infield's 'Running of the Urinals'
