Preakness Predictions 2012: Last-Minute Picks and Odds for Saturday's Race

 The 137th Preakness Stakes promises to be every bit as thrilling as the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs was two weeks ago. Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another is one of only a couple favorites expected to challenge for the blanket of Black-Eyed Susans at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday evening. 

Morningline favorite Bodemeister will look to repeat his dominating performance at the Grade I Arkansas Derby last April when he out-classed the field by 9 1/2 lengths, instead of his second-place finish at the Triple Crown's first leg in Louisville.

As for the rest of the field and what you should be watching for in Saturday's race, we have you covered. 

Post Position and Odds for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (Post Positions courtesy of Preakness's website and odds courtesy of BOVADA):

Post Position	Horse	Odds
1	Tiger Walk	33/1
2	Teeth of the Dog	15/1
3	Pretension	33/1
4	Zetterholm	22/1
5	Went The Day Well	6/1
6	Creative Cause	7/1
7	Bodemeister	7/4
8	Daddy Nose Best	14/1
9	I'll Have Another	5/2
10	Optimizer	33/1
11	Cozetti	33/1

Favorites:

Bodemeister

Bodemeister posted some of the top splits in Kentucky Derby history in the first leg of the Triple Crown before running out of gas on the final furlong. Trainer Bob Baffert has won five times at Pimlico dating back to 1997, and will be favored to do it again in 2012. 

2010 Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky was the last horse to win from post No. 7, where Bodemeister will start on Saturday. History looks to be on Bodemeister's side at the 1 3/16 mile dirt track, as six winners have come from the No. 7 post since 1989. 

I'll Have Another

I'll Have Another will look to follow in the footsteps of Big Brown (2008), Smarty Jones (2004) and Funny Cide (2003) Saturday, attempting to become the fourth horse in the past decade to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Unfortunately, only two Preakness winners have come from the No. 9 post in the past 40 years. Funny Cide was the last to do it nearly a decade ago and before then it was Canonero II in 1971.

Went The Day Well

Last year's Preakness Stakes winner, Shackelford started from the No. 5 post, and that's where Went The Day Well will start on Saturday. The thoroughbred finished fourth at the Derby and will likely go off at 6/1 odds when the gun sounds and gates open. 

Went The Day Well overcame a poor start two weeks ago to finish just 2 1/2 lengths behind winner I'll Have Another, so don't count him out if he doesn't run up front right away.

Picks

Finish	Horse
1	Bodemeister
2	I'll Have Another
3	Went The Day Well

Why not go with the favorite? Bodemeister looked to be in his own separate class through three quarters of the Kentucky Derby before giving way to a surging underdog in I'll Have Another. Pimlico Race Course presents a slightly shorter distance for Bodemeister to cover, and the track will be both quick and firm, allowing Bob Baffert's horse to get out to a insurmountable lead.

I'll Have Another will attempt to chase down Bodemeister like he did two weeks earlier, but his bid for a Triple Crown will come up just short as he finishes second. 

Third place will likely go to Went The Day Well or Creative Cause. Both produced solid Top Five finished at Churchill Downs

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