138th Preakness Stakes Preview and Picks
138th Preakness Stakes Preview and Picks
The 2013 Triple Crown horse racing season for three-year old thoroughbreds moves onto the second of three legs with the running of this Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.
Put Your Horse Racing $$$ Where Your Mouth Is – Join Bovada Racebook Today and WAGER On the 2013 Triple Crown!!
This Grade I stakes race will be contested on dirt at Pimlico Race Track in Maryland over a distance of a 1 ¼ miles. The field consists of 14 horses competing for a total prize purse of $1 million.
The following is a closer look at my top favorite, contender and longshot for Saturday’s race with early odds provided by Bovada.
The Favorite
The overwhelming favorite to win this race at 1/1 is Orb. Going off as the 5/1 favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, this colt showed incredible closing speed to win the race by 2 ½ lengths after running in the middle of the pack most of the way.
Trained by Claude McGaughey III and ridden by Joel Rosario, the odds on this horse should continue to keep going down against a watered-down field that no longer includes Revolutionary or Normandy Invasion.
While there is never a sure thing when it comes to horse racing, the best betting strategy for this race would be to wheel Orb along with a few other contenders in an exacta bet to try and squeeze some value out of these odds. [ad-1605881]
The Contender
The second-favorite to win this year’s Preakness on Bovada’s early line is Departing at 5/1. This three-year old gelding did not run in the Kentucky Derby but comes into this race in winning form after capturing the Grade III Illinois Derby at Hawthorne by 3 ¼ lengths on April 20.
Trained by Al Stall and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. this horse has now won four of his five previous starts.
He finished third in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby behind Revolutionary and Mylute.
Departing presents the biggest treat to ending Orb’s bid at a run at the Triple Crown, so be sure to include him in any exacta or trifecta bets with the favorite if you chose not to wager on him straight-up.
The Longshot
There are still six open spots in the field for this race as we head into Wednesday’s draw for starting positions, so there could end up being quite a few interesting longshots by the time Saturday’s post time comes around.
If you are looking for a quality play with longer odds among the horses that are already confirmed to run, then my pick would be Oxbow at 14/1.
This colt was a 30/1 longshot on the morning line for the Kentucky Derby and raced his way to a sixth-place finish. Trained by D. Wayne Lucas and ridden by Gary Stevens, this colt has already made six previous starts as a three-year old including a victory in the Grade III LeComte Stakes at Fair Grounds earlier in the year.
