The Haiku Handicapper: 2018 Preakness Stakes

Joe Nevills, sales editor for the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the 2018 Preakness Stakes field in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Quip
Bypassed the Derby
To be Justify's wingman
Tough break for you, dude

#2 - Lone Sailor
When this colt last won,
Justify still had five months
Until his debut

#3 - Sporting Chance
His nose for trouble
Is negating the upside
He displayed at two

#4 - Diamond King
The local fodder
Cross-entered the Peter Pan
And should have gone there

#5 - Good Magic
Heart-filled runner-up
We'll learn how deep his tank goes
Off two huge efforts

#6 - Tenfold
He'll win some races
But this isn't one of them
Watch him this summer

#7 - Justify
Dominant Derby
Obscured by Zapruder-like
Health controversy

#8 - Bravazo
Outran projections
This crew did it with Oxbow
Encore's tough to see

Prediction
The tables are turned
Good Magic stuns Justify
One, eight fill super

The Haiku Handicapper: 2017 Preakness Stakes

Joe Nevills, sales editor of the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the Preakness Stakes field in post position order in the form of haiku - a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Multiplier
The next horse to turn
The Hawthorne/Preakness double
Wins at my expense

#2 - Cloud Computing
Making his fourth start
Recent efforts don't scream out
"I want this distance"

#3 - Hence
Middling Derby tilt
Still outshines most shooters here
Fourth seems about right

#4 - Always Dreaming
The Derby winner
Lived up to hype at Churchill
The win goes through him

#5 - Classic Empire
Derby rewards trips
Preakness rewards better horse
It could still be him

#6 - Gunnevera
Never been a fan
Of deep closers coming back
After bland Derby

#7 - Term of Art
His closest finish
In a meant-for-dirt stakes race
Is six lengths behind

#8 - Senior Investment
Promising future
Winning nice allowances
This seems ambitious

#9 - Lookin At Lee
Dynamite rail trip
Never seems to fool them twice
When the show moves east

#10 - Conquest Mo Money
Hard not to root for
But he seems to hit his wall
A few panels short

Prediction
Champ Classic Empire
Channels Lookin at Lucky
Four, ten fill the tri