Preakness Stakes Preview: Bob Baffert Looks For Record Breaking Eighth Preakness Win With Favorite Improbable

By J.J. Hysell
With many of the top finishers from the dramatic Kentucky Derby bypassing Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, the 144th edition appears to be a wide-open, competitive race.
Country House, awarded the Derby win after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference, is sidelined with an illness. It’s the first time a Derby winner hasn’t run in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown since 1996 when Grindstone was retired with an injury.
Maximum Security, who crossed the f