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Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is not afraid to enter horses in stakes races, even if they seem hopelessly overmatched on paper. And he is often right, winning at a 17% clip in stakes races and a robust 24% clip overall. On Saturday, Joseph will take another big swing with Bull by the Horns, a gray colt whom speed figures say needs to get much faster to be competitive in the Preakness Stakes. Bet Bull by the Horns and the entire Preakness Stakes at DraftKings Racing, where new users who click through our links can win a share of $150,000 with DK Horse's King of the Track promo here:

8 Bull by the Horns (30-1)

  • Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
  • Jockey: Michah Husbands
  • Last race: First in the Rushaway Stakes by ½ length
  • Career record: 5 starts: 2 wins, 2 thirds
  • Career earnings: $187,115
  • Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 70 (Rushaway Stakes)
  • Sire: Essential Quality

Below, we'll dig further into Bull by the Horns as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 16. We'll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered Saturday and analyze how the post draw affects his chances.

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What to know about Bull by the Horns

Beyer, Beyer on the wall, who's the slowest of them all?

That would be Bull by the Horns. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., this 3-year-old has raced five times, and his best career Beyer Speed Figure is just 70. For comparison, the next slowest horse in the Preakness Stakes field, Crupper, has a career-best Beyer of 80.

If there's any good news on the speed figure scale it's that Bull by the Horns has gotten "faster" with every start: 63, 64, 68, 69 and 70. But that's negligible improvement at a time when horses should be progressing exponentially. He was visually impressive in his last start, rallying strongly from last to win the Rushaway Stakes, but that race came on the synthetic surface at Turfway Park. He is still 1-for-4 on dirt, with the lone victory coming in a maiden special race at Gulfstream Park. 

Joseph originally wasn't intending to run Bull by the Horns in the Preakness. The trainer had instead pointed Bull by the Horns for the Peter Pan Stakes, but after bad weather forced Joseph to call off two workouts he pivoted to the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The last time Bull by the Horns faced graded stakes company, he finished seventh of nine and lost by almost 20 lengths in the Fountain of Youth Stakes. As a result he will likely be a big longshot at DK Horse and 1/ST BET when the starting gate opens on Saturday. Claim our jumbo-sized 1/ST BET offer here to get a $500 sign-up bonus with the promo code 500BET:

Post draw analysis

As a late-running deep closer, Bull by the Horns was largely unaffected by the post draw. Nonetheless, he drew perfectly in the No. 8 hole. In addition, the speed horses drew both the rail and the far outside, which usually is a recipe for a fast pace. That should give Bull by the Horns the setup he needs. Expect him to drop to the back of the pack and try to come running late, if he's good enough.