Trainer Bob Baffert once called the Preakness Stakes the easiest of the Triple Crown races to win. Of course, he said that in a year when he didn't have the Kentucky Derby winner staring at a bit of horse racing immortality.
Baffert knows a little bit about the Preakness, having won it six times. He's also four for four when he has taken the Kentucky Derby winner to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
This time, expectations are sky-high, scaring off most of the horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby nearly two weeks ago.
"That's my favorite of the races because it's stress-free," Baffert said. "They just do a great job. They make sure all of our needs are taken care of. The only thing you have to watch out for is you don't overdo it on the crab cakes."
This race, the second leg of the Triple Crown, is the shortest of the three races at 1 3/16 miles. It's also the narrowest track at 70 feet, limiting the field to 14, as opposed to the Kentucky Derby, which has 20. But that shouldn't be a factor as the presence of Justify has slimmed the field down to eight horses. The last time eight horses started in the Preakness? It was 2015 when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown for Baffert.
Too many parallels to ignore?
Here are five storylines that you can expect to hear about this week at the Preakness.
