Preakness 2013: Prognosticating Odds for Top Horses at Pimlico

Less than a week after the Kentucky Derby, it's time to peer into the not-so-distant future and predict odds for the top horses at the 2013 Preakness Stakes.

This second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Racing Course is slightly shorter than the race at Churchill Downs. At 9.5 furlongs, or one-and-three-sixteenths of a mile, this race is just as much a test of endurance than it is of raw speed.

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey has already confirmed Orb will be competing in the second leg of the Triple Crown (h/t horseracingnation.com), which shouldn't surprise anyone. The colt won the Derby in spectacular fashion, coming from the back of the pack to win by more than two lengths in front of Golden Soul and Revolutionary.

And while the field is far from set, there are a few horses that have been confirmed as candidates to run the next big race on Saturday, May 18. 

Here's an early look at the top horses thus far, along with some early prognostication about their odds for winning the race. 

Note: These odds are my own and are not affiliated with any betting sites.

Orb: 3-1 Odds

After Orb's performance at Churchill Downs, it shouldn't surprise anyone if oddsmakers actually go lower than this. 

Blessed with impeccable bloodlines, this colt displayed top-notch speed down the back stretch, and jockey Joel Rosario handled him to perfection.

With all the surges by the early leaders at the Derby, Rosario knew he had to keep his horse disciplined for the first two-thirds of the race, but when it was time to open up the throttle, Orb had plenty left in reserve to make the final push.

The shorter race won't make much of a difference in strategy, but a dry track will. That said, Rosario is the hottest jockey in the world, McGaughey is a legendary trainer and this horse has the raw speed and endurance to win this upcoming race no matter what the weather has in store.

Goldencents: 7-1 Odds

A 17th-place finish at Churchill Downs wasn't what anyone had in mind for this horse before the Derby, but Goldencents showed without a shadow of a doubt that he's no mudder.

After the race, Leandro Mora, an assistant trainer to Doug O'Neill, talked about the disappointing finish, via horseracingnation.com:

"

He came back A-OK. With all the rain and mud, let’s just say the track was not on our side. (Goldencents) never had to face conditions like that in California. I thought (jockey) Kevin (Krigger) did a great job protecting him...he saw it was hopeless, he eased him up the last part of the race. The track condition made a big difference.

"

O'Neill expects Goldencents to be ready for the Preakness, per horseracingnation.com, and he doesn't see any reason why his horse won't bounce back with a fine race at Pimlico: "They don’t hand you anything. As good as he [Orb] is, if Goldencents rebounds and gets back to his Santa Anita Derby effort, I think we have a chance to be right there."

Goldencents certainly has the speed to win this race. Before the Derby, James Scully of BrisNet.com wrote that Goldencents featured the "top last-race BRIS speed rating (106)" of any horse entered to race at Churchill Downs.

As long as the sun is shining and the track at Pimlico is dry, Goldencents will be one of the top horses in the Preakness. 

Departing: 8-1 Odds

This horse was unable to participate in the Derby since the Illinois Derby was left off the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points system (h/t Brisnet.com).

After watching the horses rough muddy conditions at the Derby, however, trainer Al Stall Jr. is counting his blessings, according to Brisnet.com:

"

With those conditions, I was happy that the horse was sitting back in a nice comfortable stall instead of in a mile and a quarter war on a tough racetrack...He's not that big of a horse. The race [Illinois Derby] was a prep for the Preakness. That's what Hawthorne designed it as and we're going to follow it that way.

"

Departing has won three of his four starts this year and will be fresh for this upcoming race at Pimlico. The one race he didn't win was the Louisiana Derby, but Departing finished in third place behind Revolutionary and Mylute—quite a respectable duo.

Interestingly enough, Departing has a long history with Orb. According to Jennie Rees of the courier-journal.com, the two grew up together in the same paddock at Claiborne Farm. 

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