Preakness 2015 Post Positions: Slotting for All Horses in Undercard and Stakes
American Pharoah will have to overcome the unfavourable post position along the rail at the Pimlico Race Course if he’s to keep his Triple Crown chances alive in the 2015 Preakness Stakes.
Having sampled glory in the Kentucky Derby, Victor Espinoza will be aboard the Bob Baffert-trained colt for the second time this month in one of the illustrious thoroughbred chases. After the Mexican completed a Derby-Preakness double aboard California Chrome last year, he’s arguably the perfect candidate to lead Pharoah’s charge.
Bleacher Report horse racing analyst Jessica Paquette gave us her view ahead of the race:
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As Paquette notes, there are plenty of quality rides ready to capitalise should the favourite slip up in this one. Here’s a look at the slotting details for the showpiece occasion, the Pimlico Stakes on Friday and a closer examination of which horse is likely to sample glory in Maryland.
| 1 | Tapiture | Ricardo Santana Jr |
| 2 | Transparent | Julien R Leparoux |
| 3 | Encryption | Paco Lopez |
| 4 | Albano | Kerwin D Clark |
| 5 | Page McKenney | Horacio Karamanos |
| 6 | Kid Cruz | Irad Ortiz Jr |
| 7 | Vyjack | Jose L Ortiz |
| 8 | Top Billing | Joel Rosario |
| 9 | Cat Burglar | Victor Espinoza |
| 10 | Comissioner | Javier Castellano |
| 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 |
American Pharoah To Overcome Tough Draw
Winning a Triple Crown is never going to be plain sailing. To come out on top in three illustrious chases is tough enough, but to do so against a quality field and overcoming factors like fatigue and poor fortune is exactly why no horse has managed to secure the triumvirate of titles since 1978.
Indeed, we only have to look at California Chrome last year. After sauntering to glory in the big ones at Pimlico and Churchill Downs, he was expected to take victory at Belmont too. But a cruel stroke of luck saw another horse tread on his foot coming out the gate and his chances were gone.
So Baffert may be relieved to have had his misfortune out of the way early, as both of his horses were drawn on the inside; Pharoah is in Post 1, while Dortmund will be alongside him in Post 2. However, as noted by Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form, Pimlico isn’t the worst circuit to get what is usually an unfavourable draw:
This is a pretty special horse too. There’s always a clamour of excitement when a favourite wins at Kentucky, and given the measured performance Pharoah turned in, he should be able to combat being on the inside in this one.
After all, as noted by horse racing expert Matt Dinerman, there’s certainly a big gulf in quality between the Baffert pairing and Run for the Roses runner-up Firing Line:
The latter of that trio certainly represents an enticing proposition for punters. He was perilously close to holding off a late charge from Pharoah beneath the twin spires, and given this race is half-a-furlong shorter than the Derby, his chances could be further enriched.
Gary Stevens will be aboard Firing Line—who will start on the outside in Post 8—and has admitted he’s pleased to be on the outside of the favourites and Mr. Z: “I told Mr. Zetcher prior to that I'd love to have the outside," Stevens said, per USA Today. "With the way everybody else drew, with those three being inside, it gives me a lot of options.”
Stevens knows what’s required to get a horse around the Baltimore course too. He has won this race three times in the past, and as we can see here courtesy of tipping account Twitcapper, when Firing Line passed the Preakness distance at Churchill Downs, things were neck and neck between himself and Pharoah:
But the Derby champion will be too strong again. Espinoza is a jockey who is savvy enough to know that he’ll have to run a completely different race to the Run for the Roses, but Pharoah has the natural speed to get off the rail quickly and into an ideal position to strike in the latter stages.
If anything, an early push could even bring out the best in this horse. Granted, Espinoza guided him home superbly, but throughout Pharoah’s distinguished career so far, he’s proven himself to be an excellent front runner. Expect him to relish the challenge that Preakness poses with another fine display here.
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