Preakness Stakes 2011: Preview and Selections for Saturday's Race

The Preakness is only two days away, and with the positions decided on, the track's state pretty clear and the horses ready to go, the field can now be closely looked at and predictions on who may win can be made.

As expected, those on the outside and inside of the track have morning lines of 20 and 30 for the most part, while those in the middle are at 15 or under. As a result, it's going to be crowded in the middle for much of the race.

Let's take a look at the 14 horses in order. First, there's Astrology. If he can make an immediate jump at the gate, then he could get an early lead since he has the inside track.

Second through fourth are longshots Norman Asbjornson, King Congie, and Flashpoint. While I originally found King Congie intriguing due to the jockey, I'm not seeing anything noteworthy from the horse, so they'll fall back despite having the inside track.

The fifth position is where it gets interesting. Shackleford holds that one, and he led most of the Kentucky Derby before falling to fourth. Having the position that he does can easily help him start off with the lead yet again.

Sway Away and Midnight Interlude are next and are intriguing for nearly opposite reasons. Experts love what they see from Sway Away—even the horse hasn't won a significant race. While Midnight Interlude has a mostly good track record, a 16th place finish in the Kentucky Derby looks pretty bad.

Dance City holds the eighth position, and of all the horses, this one has impressed me the most in practices, since the horse has had no trouble handling the wet, muddy track that will be dealt with on Saturday.

The horses that hold positions nine through eleven are the favorites to win. Mucho Macho Man is ninth, and the third place finisher in the Kentucky Derby is in prime position to turn that momentum into a win. Dialed In, meanwhile, is ninth and looks overrated after finishing eighth in the derby but is looking to bounce back.

Animal Kingdom is a bit far outside in the 11th spot, but he did make his great run at the Kentucky Derby from the outside, and he could certainly do so again. With 2-1 odds, it's hard to go against him after the way he won the last race.

The final three spots are rounded out with Isn't He Perfect, Concealed Identity, and Mr. Commons, all of whom are too far outside to pose any real threat.

For the most part, the horses most likely to win are bunched up in the middle, and as a result I see the pack splitting in two relatively early. Those in the front should be able to hold their positions for much of the race, and naturally all will be making sure to hold off any horses on the final stretch that could make a move.

It's very hard to go against Animal Kingdom after the draw he had and the way he won the match, so I'm not going to do that. He hasn't shown that he's terrible on muddy terrain, which would have been the only thing I was worried about, so he'll be fine.

As for the other two, that's more difficult to determine. I see Mucho Macho Man and Shackleford holding on and having another great performance, but I think Astrology and Dance City will surprise many and hold on, rounding out the top five.

In the end, I see Shackleford holding on, but narrowly losing out to Animal Kingdom, with Dance City pulling off a shocker and knocking Mucho Macho Man out of the top three late.

Going against Dialed In and Mucho Macho Man may be a risky trifecta, but it certainly helped those that went with Animal Kingdom a couple weeks ago.