Preakness 2015 Post Positions: Predictions for Each Horse in the Lineup

American Pharoah is on the brink of making history, with the colt bidding to sample glory in the Preakness Stakes and take the second of three legs toward a stunning Triple Crown triumph.  

After securing a clinical victory in the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, there is plenty of hype surrounding the Bob Baffert-trained three-year-old. Now, the onus will be on him and jockey Victor Espinoza to make good on the horse’s hype for the second time with a triumph at Pimlico Saturday.

Bleacher Report Horse Racing Analyst Jessica Paquette gave us her view ahead of the race:

On the cusp of this classic chase, here’s a glimpse at the full post positions and a closer examination of where each horse in the field is set to finish.

Post	Horse	Odds	Jockey	Pick
1	American Pharoah	5-6	Victor Espinoza	1
2	Dortmund	15-4	Martin Garcia	2
3	Mr. Z	25-1	Corey Nakatani	7
4	Danzig Moon	16-1	Julien Leparoux	4
5	Tale of Verve	50-1	Joel Rosario	8
6	Bodhisattva	40-1	Trevor McCarthy	6
7	Divining Rod	16-1	Javier Castellano	5
8	Firing Line	17-4	Gary Stevens	3

Odds accurate as of 12:15 p.m. (BST), May 14. For full listings, check out the Odds Shark website.

Place: Dortmund

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Going in to the 2015 Kentucky Derby, Dortmund was the pick for many. Also from the Baffert stables, the three-year-old is a glorious horse, and for long spells of the Run for the Roses, he was well in the hunt for victory.

Here’s how close he came to winning at Churchill Downs in the showpiece race, per NBCSports.com:

With both Firing Line and Pharoah in the field for this one, it’d be easy to assume both of those horses would romp clear of Dortmund again. But the slightly shortened race distance—the Preakness showpiece is a half-furlong shorter than the Derby—should favour this horse’s dynamic galloping style.

Some are seeing the draws of Pharoah and Dortmund—in post positions one and two—as an omen on the potential finishing position, too:

With his stablemate inside him in the unfavourable first gate, jockey Martin Garcia, who will be aboard the Kentucky placer, will fancy his chances of applying some early pressure on the favourite. However, he’ll come up just short again here, with the class of the Triple Crown chaser set to shine through at the Pimlico circuit.

Winner: American Pharoah

Rob Carr/Getty Images

The prospect of being up against the rail would be enough to write off the chances of a lot of favourites, but Pharoah has the class to overcome the positional disadvantage to make it two wins from two in the illustrious thoroughbred chases.

As noted by horse racing expert Tom Hall, it’s an obstacle previous Triple Crown winners have had to overcome previously:

However, speaking on DRF Live (via Kurt Mensching of SBNation.com) after the draw had been made, Baffert admitted he would have preferred it if his two favourites had not been picked together on the inside: "I was surprised I drew 1-2. I hate drawing next to each other but they'll be easier to watch now. With eight horses it's a different vibe but they still have to break well. You don't like to be down on the inside but unless you can redraw it or something we're just going to have to deal with it."

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

This colt has the quality to overcome this position, too. While Pharoah didn’t win the Derby at a blistering pace, Espinoza was smart in how he positioned his ride, timing his run to the finish with real expertise and with plenty left in the tank, too, it would seem.

As noted by Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form, the post along the rail at Pimlico isn’t quite as debilitating as it often is around other circuits:

In addition, while Firing Line and Dortmund are in the field—second and third in Kentucky, respectively—trainer Todd Pletcher has withdrawn his horses, including quality contenders such as Materiality, Competitive Edge and Carpe Diem. As such, it should make Espinoza’s chances of overcoming a poor draw even easier.

History shows us that completing a Kentucky-Preakness double isn’t too testing, and with Espinoza aboard, who captured both titles on California Chrome last year, American Pharoah couldn’t ask for a better man in the saddle. Expect this wonderful horse to keep expectations high ahead of a history-making date at the Belmont Stakes.