BALTIMORE _ Kentucky Derby champion Justify will start from the seventh post as a 1-2 favorite in the morning line for Saturday's 143rd Preakness at Pimlico Race Course.
Trainer Bob Baffert's previous four Derby champions have all won two weeks later in Baltimore. And Justify is coming off a commanding 2{-length victory over a muddy track at Churchill Downs.
Derby runner-up Good Magic will start from the No. 5 post as a 3-1 second choice in the morning line. His trainer, Chad Brown, won the Preakness last year with Cloud Computing.
Two other Derby horses will try to turn the tables on Justify, sixth-place finisher Bravazo and eighth-place finisher Lone Sailor.
Lone Sailor's trainer, Tom Amoss, has said Justify does not appear vulnerable but that his horse ran well enough to deserve another chance. He'll go off from the No. 2 post as a 15-1 choice.
Bravazo is one of two horses 82-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas will saddle for the Preakness. He'll start from the No. 8 post as a 20-1 choice. Lukas's other horse, Sporting Chance will start from the No. 3 post as a 30-1 choice.
If one of the pair pulls an upset, Lukas would tie the all-time record of seven Preakness wins, a mark Baffert could also reach if Justify wins.
Among the fresh horses challenging Justify is Arkansas Derby runner-up Quip, who like the Derby champion is owned by WinStar Farm and the China Horse Club. Quip will start from the No. 1 post as a 12-1 choice.
Diamond King, winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, will also take his first shot at the Derby champion, starting from the No. 4 post as a 30-1 choice.
Finally, Tenfold, saddled by Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, will start from the No. 6 post as a 20-1 choice.
At eight horses, the field is on the small side for recent Preaknesses, matching the one American Pharoah beat on his way to the Triple Crown in 2015.
