Preakness 140

An eight horse field means it will be a horse race and not a stampede like the Derby. He'll have room to maneuver, so we'll find out if Pharoah is legit or not. I think he is, and I'll be quite surprised if he doesn't get Baffert another crack at the Triple Crown. He's been so close, but it's been a long time since he's had the chance. This race is a sixteenth of a mile shorter on a track with tighter turns than Churchill, but I just don't see any problems for Victor Espinosa, despite starting on the rail. Post time is 6:18 p.m.

 

Good call Jump.

 

Very impressive, especially in that slop with a thunderstorm going on. This horse just goes about his business like a pro. But there's always several well rested, quality 3 year olds waiting for any potential Triple Crown winner at Belmont Park. Some of them ran in the Derby, and while history tells us it's more likely someone who skipped both of the first two legs that will spring an upset. And losing Derby trainers tend to tweak their routines to try to get that extra 1/4 mile faster. But that win was as impressive as you'll see from a younger race horse. He's headed back here to Churchill for two and a half weeks before shipping to New York, so we'll see. Baffert tends to follow the same schedule that's almost won him the Triple Crown before, so I don't see him changing it. Horse people are superstitious to a fault. But he's been so, so close before, I just don't see him doing anything different at this point. Gonna be an interesting three weeks.