BALTIMORE — The day looked much the same. There were wastebaskets catching rainwater seeping through the ceiling, cardboard and wood chips and carpets meant to soak up days worth of dampness at Pimlico Race Course. The fans, in rain boots and parkas, were not deterred by the dreadful conditions: They wanted to witness the second act of what they hoped would soon become horse racing lore. This was not 2015, when the Bob Baffert-trained American Pharoah went to the lead of the Preakness Stakes and stayed there, winning by seven lengths to capture the second jewel in a storybook Triple Crown run — the first in 37 years. But Justify shook free, and then hung on to defeat Bravazo by a half-length in the 143rd Preakness and set up a shot at the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in New York in three weeks.

Source: New York Times May 19, 2018 22:57 UTC