It was a Grade I stakes race with a purse of $1.5 million for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of 1+3⁄16 miles (1.9 km).

As is commonly the case with the Preakness, the field for the race featured the winner and other top horses from the Kentucky Derby, facing off with several "new shooters" – horses who either did not qualify for the Derby or whose connections chose to bypass that race to focus on the Preakness.

To his inside, Good Magic rushed up to challenge and the two matched strides around the first turn and down the backstretch while setting moderate fractions.

[2] Five of those wins came with horses who had just won the Kentucky Derby: Silver Charm, Real Quiet, War Emblem and American Pharoah.

[11] Justify later duplicated this feat in the 2018 Belmont Stakes, making Baffert only the second person to train two Triple Crown winners.

Splits for each quarter-mile: (:23.11) (:24.08) (:24.23) (:24.68) (:19.83 for final 3⁄16) Reference: Equibase Chart[1] The 143rd Preakness payout schedule[1]