2012 Preakness Post Positions: Where History Says Is Best to Start

While the draw for the Preakness Stakes does not have the impact on the race that the draw for the Kentucky Derby does, it is still something that we take notice.

The field of 11 at Pimlico is nine fewer than what the field at the Kentucky Derby was, meaning that the only real problem that post position could cause is a trip out of the gate.

In contrast to mile-long races, the Preakness starting gates are set much closer to the top of the stretch, giving horses to the outside plenty of time to make their way inward before the first turn. That would make it seem as though horses on the outside are on just as level of a playing field as those on the inside.

That has not been the case historically though, as horses starting at post positions nine to 11 have only won the Preakness seven times since 1909. That would seem to rule out Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another, as well as Optimizer and Cozzetti.

Don't tell that to Doug O'Neill, I'll Have Another's owner, as he believes his horse can hunt down the ever-elusive Triple Crown. Optimizer and Cozzetti were written off by odds makers already, so that statistic shouldn't mean much to them.

The No. 1 and No. 8 post positions have produced nine Preakness winners since 1909. It is a surprise that the No. 1 post has not produced more winners due to the fact that inside track always helps. That's just another testament to the irrelevance of the post positions at the Preakness.

The fifth spot has been home to 10 winners historically, and Went the Day Well has been given 6-to-1 odds to come away with a victory this year which is not too shabby.

Now is where the parity really begins and the method of betting on historical trends gets more tricky. There have been 11 winners each out of the second, fifth and seventh spots. Do not expect the winner to come for two or three this year, as Teeth of the Dog and Pretension have not received much love.

But No. 7 has the best shot of any horse to win the race on Saturday. Bodemeister is listed at 8-5 odds to win and he has impressed in his last two races, except for the final 100 yards of the Kentucky Derby when he ran out of gas.

Twelve horses have won the Preakness out of the fourth post position but odds are that Zetterholm will not be able to pull off a monumental upset this year.

That just leaves the No. 6 spot. If you are a casual better and you do not know much about horses, you might as well throw a couple of bucks down on Creative Cause. Not just because of his decent 6-1 odds, but because 15 horses have won the Preakness Stakes after starting at the sixth position.

So while the post positions in this race do not mean as much as they normally do, owners definitely do not want to see their horses starting at nine or farther out.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Odds
1.	Tiger Walk	K. Desormeaux	30-1
2.	Teeth of the Dog	J. Bravo	15-1
3.	Pretension	J. Santiago	30-1
4.	Zetterholm	J. Alvarado	20-1
5.	Went the Day Well	J. Velazquez	6-1
6.	Creative Cause	J. Rosario	6-1
7.	Bodemeister	M. Smith	8-5
8.	Daddy Nose Best	J. Leparoux	12-1
9.	I'll Have Another	M. Gutierrez	5-2
10.	Optimizer	C. Nakatani	30-1
11.	Cozzetti	J. Lezcano	30-1