Preakness Field 2015: Post Positions and Updated Odds for All Horses

The eight-horse field for the 2015 Preakness Stakes is officially set following Wednesday's post position draw.

American Pharoah is the 4-5 morning-line favorite to win the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday. The 9 ½-furlong showcase with a $1,500,000 purse at stake promises to be a thrilling sprint from start to finish.

Along with the post position reveal came the morning-line odds for every horse, which can be found in this table:

Post No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Morning-Line Odds
1	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	4-5
2	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	7-2
3	Mr. Z	Corey Nakatani	D. Wayne Lukas	20-1
4	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	15-1
5	Tale of Verve	Joel Rosario	Dallas Stewart	30-1
6	Bodhisattva	Trevor McCarthy	Jose Corrales	20-1
7	Divining Rod	Javier Castellano	Arnaud Delacour	12-1
8	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	4-1

It comes as no surprise that American Pharoah is the clear favorite. Fresh off a Kentucky Derby triumph against a magnificent field, he is ridden by reigning Preakness champion jockey Victor Espinoza and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

The lack of competition in this Preakness field only shortens American Pharoah's odds of capturing the second leg of the Triple Crown. However, his own stable mate in Dortmund may give him a run for his money just as he did at Churchill Downs.

Dortmund led on an ambitious starting pace in Louisville but didn't have quite enough to finish the job for what would have been his seventh career win in as many starts.

Both of Baffert's entries are closest to the rail, though, which certainly complicates matters. Seasoned track announcer Travis Stone weighed in on the draw:

Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden logged what three-time Preakness-winning jockey Gary Stevens had to say as he prepares to start on Firing Line furthest from the rail in post No. 8:

Firing Line was the runner-up at the Kentucky Derby, beating out a previously perfect Dortmund and almost getting the better of American Pharoah, finishing just one length behind. Having a savvy rider such as Stevens in the irons could have well made Firing Line a worthy No. 2 favorite.

Another horse who shouldn't be overlooked beyond the Derby's big three is Danzig Moon.

Despite finishing fifth at Churchill Downs, 6 ½ lengths off the winning pace, jockey Julien Leparoux has an underrated entry who placed second only to Carpe Diem at the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. Then Danzig Moon ran better in the Kentucky Derby, so he's trending in the right direction.

One new addition is 12-1 bet Divining Rod, who is coming off a victory at the Lexington Stakes. Owner Gretchen Jackson spoke about the major strides her horse made in that race at Keeneland on April 11, per Mike Curry of America's Best Racing:

"

The transition that was made in the Lexington was that he didn't come out of the gate and have to be on the front end, streaking around the racetrack. He was able to be brought back and kept close to the pace, but then he ran on and he showed tactical speed. He showed relaxation and a certain maturity. He stunned us all.

"

Divining Rod has never finished out of the money in five career starts. The Preakness is by far his biggest race ever, but a prolific jockey in Javier Castellano will be aboard. The seventh post is an ideal position to start from based on how the draw shook out too, so Divining Rod has a big edge there.

Since half of the Preakness field features top-five Derby finishers, though, there's a strong chance the winner will come from that lot. Even a less than ideal post position shouldn't stop American Pharoah from using his superior speed to succeed at the shortest Triple Crown track.

Note: Race information courtesy of Preakness.com.