War of Will wins 144th Preakness Stakes
War of Will survived a battle of attrition to take Pimlico.
At 6-1 odds, War of Will crossed the finish line first to win the 144th running of the Preakness Stakes. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione rode the rail down the stretch and held off Everfast to earn the second jewel of the Triple Crown by 1 1/4 lengths.
Today was the day for War of Will! pic.twitter.com/Qf8ylTY4xe
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 18, 2019
War of Will was trained by Canadian Mark Casse. It's Casse's first Triple Crown victory.
The Preakness victory comes after War of Will was cut off by Maximum Security at the 2019 Kentucky Derby, which led to Country House being declared the winner at Churchill Downs.
Country House did not run Saturday, making this the first Preakness Stakes since 1996 to not feature the Kentucky Derby winner.
Improbable, the pre-race favorite at 5-2, finished sixth, denying trainer Bob Baffert a record eighth Preakness victory.
Here's how bettors fared on a $2.00 wager:
| POS | HORSE | WIN | PLACE | SHOW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | War of Will | $14.20 | $7.40 | $5.40 |
| 10 | Everfast | - | $32.00 | $14.40 |
| 5 | Owendale | - | - | $6.00 |
And here are the payouts for exotic wagers:
| Exotic Wagers | Combo | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| $2 Exacta | 1-10 | $947.00 |
| $1 Trifecta | 1-10-5 | $4669.80 |
| $1 Superfecta | 1-10-5-3 | $51924.00 |
The race also featured a stunning visual when Bodexpress threw jockey John Velazquez off his back immediately after leaving the gate.
The real champ. pic.twitter.com/74C8b4gUXm
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) May 18, 2019
Bodexpress managed to run the entire race and even beat some of his fellow horses across the line before taking another lap around the track. However, he was technically disqualified due to the incident.