Preakness 2012 Odds: Last-Second Bets You Can't Pass on

It's almost time for the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes, which means it's almost time to get all of your exactas and trifectas ready to go.

With the odds just about settled before the race, what are the smartest plays, longshots worth a look and horses not named Bodemeister capable of winning?

I've got a few ideas, and I'm willing to share. Let's take a last-minute look at the bets you should be considering.

Listen to Bill Finley

If you aren't in the mood for taking risks and want to listen to someone more experienced than I in this regard, Bill Finley from ESPN has a play I would suggest following:

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Box Bodemeister and I'll Have Another in an exacta. Use Bodemeister and I'll Have Another on top in trifectas with Went The Day Well and Creative Cause in the second and third spots.

Boring? Yes. But boring is better than losing.

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I can't argue with that. With its smaller field, shorter track and a fairly weak field this year, the Preakness is unlikely to be full of surprises.

So go with boring. Or go with angry, which is what you'll be if you get too cute this year.

Feeling a Bit More Adventurous?

The horse for you is Zetterholm, who comes into the Preakness on a three-race winning streak and could give you a big payoff at 20-1 odds.

For what it's worth, he's the longshot of choice for Jerry Brown of Thoro-Graph (via Ray Kerrison of the New York Post):

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“Zetterholm’s dam [Holy Wish] has thrown five consecutive really good horses and they all got better with age,” Brown said. “Zetterholm is improving rapidly. At this point, he’s probably a few lengths off these other horses but it would only take one more forward move to put him right there.

“The fact that Dutrow took him out of a much softer spot last week to run in the Preakness makes me think he thinks this horse is going to run the race of his life.”

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Zetterholm could be this race's I'll Have Another. If you're going to play it risky, do so with Zetterholm.

If Not Bodemeister, Go With Creative Cause

Creative Cause ran much of the Kentucky Derby wide to avoid the mayhem of the crowd, and it probably cost him. But he ran strong for most of his fifth-place run and should be a contender along with Bodemeister.

At 6-1 odds, he's a more lucrative play than the 8-5 odds prohibitive favorite Bodemeister is receiving. And as Andrew Beyer of The Washington Post notes, he's the one horse other than Bodemeister with upside in this race:

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While I’ll Have Another and Went the Day Well probably ran their optimal races in the Derby, Creative Cause did not. Most clockers didn’t like the way he had trained at Churchill Downs; he had a difficult trip in the race itself, yet he lost by just three lengths. He is a consistent, seasoned runner who defeated Bodemeister earlier in the winter, and under neutral conditions he might do it again, but not when his rival gets an uncontested lead.

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Even at 6-1 odds, Creative Cause is still a risky pick in my opinion. (Frankly, I think every horse not named Bodemeister is damned risky at Pimlico this year.) But if I'm not going with Bodemeister; my money is going straight to Creative Cause.

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