Preakness Odds 2015: Race Lines and Post Positions for Pimlico

Following his impressive victory in the Kentucky Derby, American Pharoah was named the odds-on favorite for the 2015 Preakness Stakes. While that continues to be the case, several pre-race happenings have shifted the odds and cast some doubt over whether Pharoah will be able to notch another win.

Trainer Todd Pletcher tossed the first curveball prior to the Preakness when he announced that none of his four horses would be competing at Pimlico. Considering the strength of those contenders—especially the Derby's sixth-place finisher, Materiality—Pharoah's chances of winning the Preakness suddenly improved dramatically.

That didn't last long, though.

Wednesday's post position draw, per Keith Sargeant of NJ.com, shook things up for the worse for the Kentucky Derby winner, as Pharoah drew the dreaded No. 1 gate—a position that has yielded only one winner (Tabasco Cat in 1994) since 1961. Interestingly enough, stablemate Dortmund will start alongside Pharoah in the No. 2 gate, making things even more difficult for the favorite.

So, with all of those factors in mind, let's take a look at the updated odds for the Preakness:

Post	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Jockey
1	American Pharoah	5-6	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza
2	Dortmund	15-4	Bob Baffert	Martin Garcia
3	Mr. Z	25-1	D. Wayne Lukas	Corey Nakatani
4	Danzig Moon	16-1	Mark Casse	Julien Leparoux
5	Tale of Verve	50-1	Dallas Stewart	Joel Rosario
6	Bodhisattva	40-1	Jose Corrales	Trevor McCarthy
7	Divining Rod	16-1	Arnaud Delacour	Javier Castellano
8	Firing Line	17-4	Simon Callaghan	Gary Stevens

All Preakness odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

The first thing you'll notice is that American Pharoah isn't favored as much as he was before the post draw. The colt entered Wednesday with 5-8 odds, but following the draw, his line shifted closer to even money at 5-6. That's to be expected after drawing the No. 1 gate.

Garry Jones/Associated Press

While drawing the inside position could be detrimental to Pharoah's chances of winning the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, we cannot count out the impressive colt. After all, he showed a great burst out of the gate in the Kentucky Derby, moving quickly into third position after starting out wide. A similar start in the Preakness could allow him to move to the front and ride the rail throughout the race.

Here's what trainer Bob Baffert had to say about the draw during an interview with Preakness.com:

"

I don't like the inside. I never like the one-hole. Sometimes they don't break as well. [Pharoah has] drawn the one-hole before at Santa Anita. When I was watching the draw and all these numbers were coming up, I go, "This is not looking good." It's the luck of draw. We're there. I don't love it, but they'll be easy to watch.

"

Baffert added, "It's a short field, eight horses. He still has to break well. If he's the best horse, we'll find out."

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Dortmund will be starting alongside Pharoah in the No. 2 gate, making for an interesting opening furlong. Both colts broke well in the Kentucky Derby, and if that's the case again, they could be fighting for position on the inside immediately. That may prove to be an advantage for the much bigger Dortmund.

Firing Line will be starting on the opposite side of the track after drawing the No. 8 gate. Generally, the outside gate isn't favored by jockeys, but in such a small field, it's a fantastic location.

Gary Stevens shared his delight during an interview with Dan Wolken of USA Today: "It's a huge advantage. Having American Pharoah on the outside of me in the Derby, (jockey) Victor (Espinoza) had options and he took advantage of them. Hopefully I'll be able to take the same kind of advantage in this race. I'm going to sleep a lot easier tonight than had I drawn on the inside."

Firing Line was impressive in the Derby. He was able to start quickly and move to the front with ease. He displayed good stamina, maintaining a good pace alongside Dortmund before his solid finishing speed challenged Pharoah down the final stretch.

If Firing Line is able to jump out to a good start once again and either Dortmund or Pharoah gets tangled up on the inside, there's a strong possibility the Kentucky Derby runner-up could become the Preakness winner.