Preakness Stakes Expert Predictions and Betting Advice

2016 Preakness Stakes Field Early Look
by Trevor Whenham - 5/10/2016

The dust has only barely settled, and it will still be a week or more until we know for sure what the Preakness field will look like. We do have early indications, though, and it seems like we could be heading towards a full field - the field is capped at 14 runners in the middle leg of the Triple Crown. Things are so volatile right now, though, that it also wouldn't be surprising if we wound up with a small field - a big favorite can scare off a lot of horses. While the real handicapping doesn't really start until the field is set, we can take a look at what we have so far and get started with our work:

Can Nyquist Win the Triple Crown? Expert Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/10/2016

For more than 30 years as an obsessive horse racing fan there was nothing I wanted more than to see a Triple Crown winner. American Pharoah finally delivered last year, and it was even better than I had hoped. Now, after Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby as the heavy favorite last weekend, people are getting greedy and looking for a second straight Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby Horses in the 2016 Preakness Stakes
by Trevor Whenham - 5/10/2016

There was a time when we used to see a large number of horses that had run in the Kentucky Derby come back two weeks later for the Preakness. It was the Triple Crown, and horses took on the challenge from beginning to end. That has changed significantly now. It is far more common these days to see a horse drop off the Triple Crown trail entirely or to skip the Preakness and wait for the Belmont than it is to head right from Louisville to Baltimore.

Horses that Can Win the Preakness Stakes in 2016
by Trevor Whenham - 5/10/2016

It's too early to know what the final Preakness Stakes field is going to look like. Based on early indications, though, we have the possibility of seeing a full field of 14 in the starting gate. As in any race, though, the number of horses that reasonably have a chance of winning the Preakness is quite a bit smaller than the number of horses likely to enter. As things stand now, here are the seven potential entrants who are the horses that can win the Preakness:

2015 Preakness Stakes Post Positions with Expert Betting Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 5/14/2015

I felt heading into the Kentucky Derby that this was the fastest, deepest, most talented crop of three-year-olds that I've seen in a decade. So it makes sense that this year's Preakness Stakes features one of the most competitive fields that we've seen in Pimlico in some time.

2015 Preakness Stakes Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/13/2015

The field is set, the horses have arrived in Baltimore, and all that is left now is for us to wait for the Preakness Stakes to begin. By the time Saturday rolls around, this race will have been broken down a million different ways. It's a small field, but it lacks no intrigue. The three best three year olds in the country right now are here, joined by a couple of intriguing longer shots and a few horses that look like they accidentally entered the wrong race.

2015 Preakness Stakes Betting Advice: Live Long Shots
by Trevor Whenham - 5/13/2015

The Preakness is going to be a very top-heavy race. American Pharoah will be a strong favorite, probably at less than even money by post time. Firing Line and Dortmund are also going to be popular with bettors and should both be at less than 5/1. The rest of the field is going to be far less popular. In fact, there is at least a chance that all of the rest of the horses will be at least 20/1.

2015 Preakness Stakes: Handicapping the Pace Scenario
by Trevor Whenham - 5/13/2015

The pace makes the race. If you have ever doubted that that cliché is true you just need to look at the Kentucky Derby. Dortmund set the early pace, and the fractions were far from aggressive. American Pharoah and Firing Line were able to rate off that pace and save themselves. When you give the three best horses in the field an energy-saving early trip and all the room they need to move then you aren't going to have much of a race.

Preakness Stakes Props Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 5/13/2015

The 2015 Triple Crown horse racing season for the top three-year-old thoroughbreds in the nation resumes this Saturday with the running of the Grade 1 $1.5 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. While bettors will be dialed into American Pharoah's bid to win the second leg of this series after his thrilling win in the Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs, there are a few golden opportunities to try and cash in on the special props and futures that some of the top sportsbooks have released in conjunction with Saturday's race.

Bodhisattva Odds to Win the 2015 Preakness Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/13/2015

Can Bodhisattva win the Preakness? No. It would take a miracle and a disastrous outing from at least five other horses in the field. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't talk about the horse, though. He fills a role that makes the Preakness special - the local horse. Three hundred and sixty four days of the year Pimlico is irrelevant on the highest levels of national racing, but the Maryland circuit is home to strong trainers, excellent jockeys, and a proud tradition.

2015 Preakness Stakes Expert Betting Advice: Tips on Maximizing Wagers
by Trevor Whenham - 5/12/2015

One of the things that makes the Preakness interesting from a betting perspective is that it is always different from year to year. You always have the Kentucky Derby winner to contend with, but how impressive that winner is, how strong the rest of the Derby field was, who is coming back to face him again, and what new horses are joining the mix all give the Preakness a different betting look each year.

2015 Preakness Stakes: Handicapping the Jockeys
by Trevor Whenham - 5/12/2015

It’s shaping up to be the smallest field in the Preakness at least since 2000 when Red Bullet stunned overwhelming favorite Fusaichi Pegasus in a field of eight. Trainers are obviously too scared of what Bob Baffert brings to the table this year to take a serious shot at him. Normally at this time we would just look at the most interesting stories among the Preakness jockeys. With a field this tiny, though, we can look at all of the jockeys (odds to win the race are from Bovada):

Tale of Verve Odds to Win the 2015 Preakness Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/12/2015

I would guess that virtually no one had heard of Tale of Verve until the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby. That’s when entries were due for that race, and this horse was a shocking entrant in the race. No one had seen him coming. He was the 22nd horse on the list, and only 20 could run. There were scratches, but they came too late, and he was left out of that field.

Handicapping the 2015 Preakness Stakes Trainers
by Trevor Whenham - 5/12/2015

I usually have to pick and choose the best stories to tell each year when I write about the Preakness trainers. This year, though, we have only eight horses that are Preakness possibles, and two of them are trained by the same guy, so there are no decisions to be made — I’ll just look at them all. Here. then, is your group of prospective Preakness trainers (odds to win the race are from Bovada):

Divining Rod Odds to Win the 2015 Preakness Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/12/2015

There are three types of horses that typically join the Triple Crown trail at the Preakness stage. The first is a highly-talented horse that wasn't quite mature enough to try the Derby. Bernardini or Bayern come to mind. Next are the no-hope horses, often with local connections, that are just looking to take a shot at a miracle. It rarely ends well for them.

2015 Preakness Stakes Handicapping: Early Look at the Field
by Trevor Whenham - 5/6/2015

It is shaping up to be a much smaller field for the Preakness than we saw in the Kentucky Derby — potentially much, much smaller. All that matters, though, is that American Pharoah is, barring injury, headed to Baltimore and ready to take his next step towards history. Here are the horses he is sure to face in the Preakness and others that are potential foes:

Horses that can win the Preakness Stakes in 2015 with Expert Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 5/6/2015

The field for the Preakness is in flux as I write this about 10 days out from the second jewel of the Triple Crown. There could be as many as 13 horses, though only four have been confirmed at this point, and it seems more likely that we’ll see about eight enter the starting gate. Of the potential entrants, there are six horses that can win the Preakness:

Kentucky Derby Horses in the Preakness Stakes for 2015
by Trevor Whenham - 5/6/2015

We were witness to the best Kentucky Derby in a long, long time last Saturday. As has become the unfortunate trend, though, we are not in a position to see a rematch of much of the field two weeks later in the Preakness. It used to be that the Triple Crown was like one big challenge. Horses signed on for the whole trip and would run all three legs of the toughest challenge in sports — because that’s what you did.

Can American Pharoah win the Triple Crown? Odds and Handicapping
by Trevor Whenham - 5/5/2015

There is only one question on the minds of everyone interested in horse racing in the wake of the best Kentucky Derby I can remember — can American Pharoah win the Triple Crown? Oddsmakers — and therefore the betting public -- are decidedly optimistic. Bovada has him at just +250 that he can do what no horse has done since 1978 and win his next two races, compared to just -300 that he will fail like so many greats before him have.

2014 Preakness Stakes Contenders
by Robert Ferringo - 5/16/2014

Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome’s fragile health is becoming one of the top stories leading up to this week’s Preakness Stakes. The Derby winner is a monster 3-to-5 favorite to win this weekend’s race despite swirling rumors regarding the horse’s health.