How Preakness 2018 horses have run on sloppy, muddy tracks
Starting Tuesday night, it has rained for three straight days in Baltimore with more to come on Saturday for the 143rd running of the Preakness Stakes.
The second jewel of the Triple Crown comes after the wettest Kentucky Derby in history, run two weeks back over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs.
Unlike the 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby, there are just eight in this year's Preakness, including 1-2 Morning Line favorite Justify.
Here's a look at how the Preakness horses have done previously on wet tracks.
Quip: Trained by Rodolphe Brisset, the son of Distorted Humor has run on nothing but fast tracks in his six starts.
Lone Sailor: Trained by Tom Amoss, Lone Sailor has run twice on a sloppy track. Second time out, the son of Majestic Warrior broke his maiden by winning a seven-furlong race at Saratoga by 11 lengths on Sept. 3 last year. His second run on a sloppy track came in the Kentucky Derby when he finished eighth with an 89 Beyer Speed Figure.
Sporting Chance: Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Sporting Chance ran in the mud on Kentucky Derby day, just not in the Derby. Instead, the son of Tiznow ran fourth in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile. His Beyer Figure was 77 for that race. Before that, Sporting Chance ran third in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 19. He ran an 82 Beyer in that race.
Diamond King: John Servis trained Smarty Jones, who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby on a sloppy track. Diamond King is his first Preakness horse since Smarty, but the son of Quality Road has not run on a wet track in any of his six starts, four of which were victories.
Good Magic: The son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin had never run on a sloppy track before finishing second to Justify in the Kentucky Derby. His Beyer Speed Figure of 99 was the second-best of Good Magic's career, behind only the 100 he posted in his Breeders' Cup Juvenile win at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
Tenfold: Trained by Steve Asmussen, the son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin has just three career starts on his record. All three were on fast tracks at Oaklawn Park. Tenfold won the first two before finishing fifth in the Arkansas Derby.
Justify: Half of the Kentucky Derby winner's four starts have come on wet tracks. In his second start, the son of Scat Daddy won by 6 1/2 lengths on a muddy track March 11 at Santa Anita. His Beyer was 101 for that race. Then, of course, on a sloppy track, Justify became the first colt to not race as a two-year-old and still win the Derby at three since Apollo in 1882. Justify's Derby Beyer was 103.
Bravazo: Also trained by Lukas, the Calumet Farm colt finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby in the slop at Churchill Downs. Based on that performance, Lukas said this week he isn't that concerned about whether the son of Awesome Again can handle the Pimlico mud.
Preakness Stakes 2018 field
This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 9:03 PM with the headline "How Preakness 2018 horses have run on sloppy, muddy tracks."