Justify wins 2018 Preakness Stakes, setting up chance at Triple Crown

Justify wins the 143rd running of the Preakness on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland, setting up a chance to win a Triple Crown in June. The 3-year-old colt was the heavy favorite to win the race after winning the Kentucky Derby. 

With jockey Mike Smith in the saddle, Justify held off seven challengers to remain unbeaten and apparently giving trainer Bob Baffert his record-tying seventh Preakness victory.

Bravazo finished second and Tenfold took third in the 1 3/16-mile race.

It's the sixth time in six tries that Baffert has won the Preakness after winning the Kentucky Derby. His seven Preakness victories matches the record set by R.W. Walden in the 1800s.

If the results stand, Justify can become horse racing's 13th Triple Crown winner —the first since Baffert saddled American Pharoah in 2015— by winning the Belmont on June 9.

After an unrelenting rain pelted the track for much of the day, the fog rolled in during the late afternoon.