BALTIMORE — It is a compact field of eight horses for the 140th running of the Preakness Stakes, but perhaps it is the deepest group to contest the second jewel of Triple Crown in nearly two decades, with the top three finishers in a hard-fought Kentucky Derby entered.
Small fields, however, have not been kind to Triple Crown dreams. Over the past 25 years, the Derby winner has been beaten all five times when there were nine horses or less in the field, most recently Orb in 2013.
American Pharoah’s trainer, Bob Baffert, says he is not worried.