Preakness 2012 Odds: Huge Paydays Await Bold Bettors in This Wide-Open Race

The 2012 Preakness is going to offer some tasty payouts. There are only two real favorites in this race. Bodemeister and I'll Have Another are both sitting at 3-1 (according to allhorseracing.com).

These two horses are favorites for good reason. They were first and second in the Kentucky Derby. However, I'll Have Another did not win with the fastest time, and there was nothing overly dominant in his performance. 

He showed a nice finishing kick, good stamina and a fantastic competitive drive. It was a well-earned win, just not one that gave us reason to believe he would dominate at the Preakness. 

For starters, the Preakness is slightly shorter. This will limit the impact he can make with his finishing kick. Also, the field is far smaller. 

I'll Have Another was able to burst through to make his finishing run because he did such a wonderful job of handling the traffic. This is not as big of a concern in the Preakness, which is going to leave I'll Have Another susceptible to faster horses. 

And Bodemeister is certainly a faster horse. He burst out of the gate at the Derby, and, at one point, had a three-length lead. 

However, he didn't have the stamina to to hold onto the lead, and showed tremendous heart just to hold onto second. 

Bodemeister certainly has the speed to win at the Preakness, but this is a horse that likes to fly out of the gates. While the Preakness is shorter than the Derby, it is not so short that he won't be susceptible to being overtaken down the stretch once again. 

And the point of all of this is to say that this race could be won by any horse, which means there are going to be some nice payouts. 

After the two favorites, you go down to two horses at 8-1 with Creative Cause and Went the Day Well (all odds are from allhorseracing.com). 

And from there, it is a quick drop to the long shots. Optimizer sits at 12-1, followed by Liaison at 15-1. 

Those are long odds for the horses with the fifth- and sixth-lowest odds in the race. And with both of the two favorites being completely vulnerable, this is a great chance to sneak in and grab a huge payday.