Preakness Entries 2015: Horses in the Field Best Suited for Pimlico
The 2015 Preakness Stakes can't live up to the Kentucky Derby's hype or deep field.
What it can do, though, is throw the smaller field onto a shorter track and watch the entertaining results, especially with many of the horses fresh and most preferring to go wire-to-wire to secure their victories.
Some figure the event at Pimlico is the easiest part of the Triple Crown pursuit for Bob Baffert's American Pharoah. In hindsight, the thought may prove true, but right now, he and a few others tout the perfect set of skills to best the field.
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Here's a look at an entry list, but keep in mind it will continue to update in the coming hours as trainers make decisions. After, let's look at the best horses suited for the event.
2015 Preakness Stakes Lineup
| American Pharoah | Confirmed |
| Firing Line | Confirmed |
| Dortmund | Confirmed |
| Carpe Diem | Pending |
| Competitive Edge | Pending |
| Materiality | Pending |
| Danzig Moon | Confirmed |
| Divining Rod | Confirmed |
| Bodhisattva | Confirmed |
| Stanford | Pending |
| Grand Bili | Pending |
| Tale of Verve | Confirmed |
Status accurate as of May 12 at 9 a.m. ET.
Horses Best Suited for Pimlico
Bodhisattva
Some consider Bodhisattva, a Jose Corrales-trained horse, a long shot at the Preakness.
It's a fair point with two Baffert horses floating around, along with Firing Line and a few others who skipped the event at Churchill Downs, such as Divining Rod.
Then again, it's not smart to outright dismiss the colt—not after he's already secured one win at Pimlico this year thanks to April's Federico Tesio Stakes. There, he surrendered the lead at the halfway point, then took it back with elite closing speed.
Corrales told Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal he wouldn't run his horse at Pimlico if he didn't think he was ready: "I will not run a horse just to run the horse. If I don't feel a horse can run in the first three, why run? That's the way I think."
The competition this time around at the course will prove more difficult for Bodhisattva, but holding experience at the track isn't something to scoff at. If he can put on another strong showing when it comes to closing speed, Bodhisattva and jockey Trevor McCarthy (his birthday is the day of the race) might have enough to pull off the unthinkable.
Dortmund
In case folks weren't aware, Dortmund loves to win a race in one way—wire-to-wire fashion.
Dortmund shocked the globe and tried this approach at the lengthy Kentucky Derby, and it almost worked despite strong contenders such as Firing Line and stablemate American Pharoah.
The good news for Dortmund is short and sweet—the Preakness is a 16th-of-a-mile shorter.
Provided Dortmund still has enough endurance to go wild again and jockey Martin Garcia plays his positioning cards right, it wouldn't be so shocking to see the duo blow out of the gates and keep away from the field through the finish line.
It almost worked at Churchill Downs, where history says the feat is almost impossible. On a shorter track with fewer participants to spar with, one-loss Dortmund becomes more dangerous than he's been in recent outings.
American Pharoah
Like it or not, American Pharoah is one of the best suited for the contest at Pimlico.
Baffert's horse can do it all, whether it's hold an early lead the distance or play off and strike when the time is right down the stretch. The Kentucky Derby was most impressive of all, as he and jockey Victor Espinoza turned on the jets late despite a poor starting position.
How about something to scare the opposition further? Baffert said after the victory he considers the Preakness the easiest race on the three-event gauntlet.
"To me, the Preakness is the easiest of the three legs," Baffert said, per Richard Rosenblatt of the Associated Press. "The Derby is the hardest. Once you get through there, you know your horses are in top form. It's a two-week turnaround. It's just a matter of getting there."
By all accounts, Baffert's top horse looks good, too, as the Courier-Journal's Twitter account captures:
Baffert's Derby winners are three-of-three at the Preakness so far. Recent momentum suggests this won't change.
It doesn't help the rest of the field that American Pharoah has some of the freshest legs in attendance and is also proven after beating one of the deepest fields in Derby memory. Sprinkle in a skill set suited for Pimlico, and he's the public's favorite for good reason.
Stats and information via Preakness.com unless otherwise specified.
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