Improbable draws post 4 for Saturday’s Preakness S. (G1)

Saturday’s 144th running of the Preakness S. (G1) drew a field of 13 3-year-olds vying for the second jewel of the Triple Crown, with WinStar Farm’s, China Horse Club’s and Starlight Racing’s Improbable, in post 4, made the 5-2 morning line favorite.

After a drama-filled Kentucky Derby (G1) that ultimately resulted in a fourth-place finish for Improbable, the Preakness has only four Run for the Roses returnees, including the highly-regarded War of Will, who, like he did in the Derby, drew post 1 for Saturday’s 1 3/16-mile contest.

Improbable will be ridden for the first time this weekend by Mike Smith. Prior to his last start, the chestnut colt had never finished worse than second in five starts, with wins in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) and Street Sense S. 

“I feel like we’re favored by default this year,” said Elliott Walden of WinStar. “But this horse has a good resume. He ran very well in the Derby without hitting the board.” 

The same ownership group, along with Head of Plains Partners, won last year’s Preakness and the Triple Crown with Justify.

The Preakness will be shown on NBC-TV, with an approximate post time of 6:48 p.m. ET.