Preakness 2015: Top Contenders and Unheralded Horses in Lineup Field
We're closing in on the 140th running of the Preakness Stakes, and the field is finally taking shape.
Of course, American Pharoah, our Kentucky Derby winner, will make his way to Pimlico as he continues his quest to become racing's first Triple Crown winner since 1978, and he'll be joined by fellow Derby runners Firing Line, Dortmund, Danzig Moon, Carpe Diem and Materiality.
If you're keeping track, that's five of the top six finishers from the Derby who will be looking to knock off AP.
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All told, we now have eight confirmed runners and four pending confirmation, while two spots remain open. We'll have more information on the full field following tomorrow's post-position draw, but for now, that's as good as we can get.
Despite the total lack of clarity, there's plenty of information out there regarding the projected field, and I'm going to help you dissect some of it with this piece.
Here, I'm going to give you a look at the projected field, via Preakness.com, before diving into a more comprehensive look at some of the field's top contenders as well as two unheralded horses to watch out for come race day.
Projected Field
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | 5-6 |
| Bodhisattva | Trevor McCarthy | Jose Corrales | 40-1 |
| Carpe Diem | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | 14-1 |
| Competitive Edge | -- | Todd Pletcher | 16-1 |
| Danzig Moon | Julien Leparoux | Mark Casse | 22-1 |
| Divining Rod | -- | Arnaud Delacour | 22-1 |
| Dortmund | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | 11-2 |
| Firing Line | Gary Stevens | Simon Callaghan | 5-1 |
| Grand Bili | Tyler Gaffalione | Gustavo Delgado | 50-1 |
| Materiality | Javier Castellano | Todd Pletcher | 16-1 |
| Stanford | Forent Geroux | Todd Pletcher | 40-1 |
| Tale of Verve | Joel Rosario | Dallas Stewart | 50-1 |
Top Contenders
American Pharoah is the horse to beat here in this year's Preakness.
What more can be said about this Bob Baffert-trained colt? With Victor Espinoza at the helm, Pharoah's Derby aspirations were never in question after breaking cleanly from the gate.
Pharoah tucked in well from his outside position and ran solidly in the two path for most of the race. After a clean kick into the four path, Pharoah was free to make a strong run down the stretch.
What was most impressive about AP's win was the fact that he looked primed to handle increased distance moving forward. While he'll get a little bit of a break in the Preakness, that hankering for increased distances should help propel him to a Preakness win.
The Pioneerof The Nile colt is looking for his sixth straight victory this Saturday, and if the prior five races or his minuscule 5-6 odds are any indication, Pharoah will be the best in the Preakness.
Behind him, Firing Line—a 5-1 selection—is arguably the biggest threat to AP's reign over the three-year-old racing community.
Firing Line ran well in the Derby and finally showed that he's capable of beating his rival, Dortmund. For a split second, Firing Line even held the lead before quickly relinquishing it to Pharoah.
Despite the runner-up finish, Firing Line's running style suits itself to a possible victory in the Preakness.
The Line of David colt will look to get out to an early lead—he may have to contend again with Dortmund on the front end—and if he's able to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field, while also setting a manageable pace, nobody will run him down.
One final note on Firing Line: Don't underestimate the experience of his rider, Gary Stevens. Stevens ranks in a tie with Pat Day for the most starts in Preakness history—he'll break the tie Saturday—and has saddled three winners, with the most recent being Oxbow in 2013, per Preakness.com.
Unheralded Horses
According to Bovada, via OddsShark.com, Danzig Moon is a 22-1 long shot as of May 11. The Malibu Moon colt is no slouch, though, and his fifth-place finish in the Derby is plenty evidence of that.
A one-time winner in six starts, Danzig Moon has finally started to string together some successful races. In fact, throw out that disappointing showing in the Tampa Bay Derby—he broke poorly and ran wide the whole way around the track—and you're looking at a horse who has finished no worse than second in three consecutive races.
Danzig Moon's connections—Julien Leparoux (rider) and Mark Casse (trainer)—are fantastic, and his bloodlines sport a sire line that runs directly through A.P. Indy and Seattle Slew.
He's starting to come together at the right time, and that could lead to Malibu Moon sneaking up for an in-the-money finish on Saturday.
Though he hasn't been confirmed as a Preakness runner just yet, Materiality is another underdog that bears watching in the 2015 Preakness. As of May 11, Materiality is sitting mid-pack at 16-1 and presents bettors with a golden opportunity to bolster their exotic tickets.
Prior to running in the Derby, Materiality was the winner of the Grade 1 Florida Derby (shown below), as well as the Islamorada—both run at Gulfstream Park.
Those impressive wins over an unforgiving surface suggest that he may be ready to take center stage at Pimlico.
The Afleet Alex colt wasn't a great fit in the Derby, but a less crowded and less formidable field could present an opportunity for Materiality to sneak in for a piece of the action this Saturday.
All Preakness odds via OddsShark.com unless otherwise noted.
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