A capacity Preakness field of 14 entered today for Satuday’s middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which will be run for the first time in its 151 years at Laurel Park. As historic Pimlico undergoes reconstruction, the Preakness field also will get a facelift compared to the runners who starred 2 weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby. Without Golden Tempo and Renegade, the 1-2 finishers from Louisville, Gotham Stakes winner #9 Iron Honor was bestowed with tepid 9-2 morning-line Preakness favoritism.
Check out the 1/ST Preakness Wager Guide for all your handicapping needs leading up to a huge weekend in Maryland. Play with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet in our $20,000 Exacta-Thon on Friday and Saturday for your share of bonus cash. And take part in an up to $10 money-back special on win bets that finish second or third in the Preakness as well as Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for the fillies.
The 1-3/16 miles Preakness will start much closer to the first turn than at Pimlico, given Laurel’s nearly 1-1/8 miles circumference. That, and the large field size, make post positions more of a premium this year than most. The post-position draw winner was local star Taj Mahal from post 1, despire his trainer's reservation in the post-draw quotes. The early speed players from posts 10-14 could find their assignments tougher due to wide draws and a need to expend more early energy to avoid ground loss. Favorite Iron Honor in post #9 could have several runners trying to cross his face in the initial strides, making Flavien Prat’s handling a key early point in the action. Incredibolt, in post #12, is the lone closer / stalker among that wider-drawn group and likely will be patiently handled out of the gate to drop over and save whatever ground he can in the early stages.
The early pace of Preakness 151 figures to be highly contested. The pacemaker could be Napoleon Solo who leaves from post #10 or Taj Mahal from post #1. Others expected to show early interest and capable of leading with some extra rider intent include Chip Honcho (post #6), Pretty Boy Miah (post #14), Corona de Oro (post #11), Great White (post #13) and Robusta (post #4). The last of those, Robusta, got the obvious best of the draw if he’s good enough to capitalize on it.
Fields for all races Friday and Saturday at Laurel Park are now set. Advance wagering on the complete Preakness Day Saturday card at Laurel Park will be available Friday at 1/ST BET and Xpressbet.
Preakness Stakes 151 | Laurel Park | Saturday Race 13 | 7:01 pm ET
1-Taj Mahal (Brittany Russell / Sheldon Russell) 5-1
2-Ocelli (Whit Beckman / Tyler Gaffalione) 6-1
3-Crupper (Donnie Von Hemel / Junior Alvarado) 30-1
4-Robusta (Doug O’Neill / Rafael Bejarano) 30-1
5-Talkin (Danny Gargan / Irad Ortiz Jr.) 20-1
6-Chip Honcho (Steve Asmussen / Jose Ortiz) 5-1
7-The Hell We Did (Todd Fincher / Luis Saez) 15-1
8-Bull by the Horns (Saffie Joseph Jr. / Micah Husbands) 30-1
9-Iron Honor (Chad Brown / Flavien Prat) 9-2
10-Napoleon Solo (Chad Summers / Paco Lopez) 8-1
11-Corona de Oro (Dallas Stewart / John Velazquez) 30-1
12-Incredibolt (Riley Mott / Jaime Torres) 5-1
13-Great White (John Ennis / Alex Achard) 15-1
14-Pretty Boy Miah (Jeremiah Englehart / Ricardo Santana Jr.) 15-1
Special Wagers
Two-Day All-Dirt Pick 5 will be:
Leg 1 | Friday, Race 10 | Allaire Dupont Distaff S.
Leg 2 | Friday, Race 12 | Pimlico Special S.
Leg 3 | Saturday, Race 7 | Chick Lang S.
Leg 4 | Saturday, Race 8 | MD Sprint S.
Leg 5 | Saturday, Race 13 | Preakness S.
Two-Day All-Stakes Pick 5 will be:
Leg 1 | Friday, Race 11 | The Very One S.
Leg 2 | Friday, Race 13 | Black-Eyed Susan S.
Leg 3 | Saturday, Race 11 | Gallorette S.
Leg 4 | Saturday, Race 12 | Jim McKay Turf Sprint S.
Leg 5 | Saturday, Race 13 | Preakness S.
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