Preakness 2015 Contenders: Race-Day Overview for Entire Field and Undercard

Are you ready for a day of horse racing at Pimlico, all leading up to the Preakness Stakes? 

If you said no, you're about to be, as below, you'll find everything you need to get you prepped for a May Saturday at the track. Let's break down the Preakness and its undercard races. 

The Preakness

Post Position	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Jockey
1	American Pharoah	10-13	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	14-1	Mark Casse	Julien Leparoux
5	Tale of Verve	50-1	Dallas Stewart	Joel Rosario
6	Bodhisattva	50-1	Jose Corrales	Trevor McCarthy
7	Divining Rod	20-1	Arnaud Delacour	Javier Castellano
8	Firing Line	17-4	Simon Callaghan	Gary Stevens

American Pharoah, American Pharoah, American Pharoah. It's all about American Pharoah. 

Truthfully, the field stacks up pretty well for the Kentucky Derby winner, whose bad luck of landing the inside post was mitigated by the fact that there are just seven other horses in the field. Two of those horses, of course, could present a major challenge, as Firing Line finished second in the Derby and Dortmund finished third. 

American Pharoah didn't pull away from Firing Line until the very end of the Derby, so Firing Line will certainly have the opportunity to outsprint American Pharoah to the finish before his superior endurance kicks in. 

Danzig Moon is certainly a horse to keep an eye on. After finishing fifth at the Derby, the horse proved he could run with the big boys, even if he couldn't come close to actually beating them. Mr. Z, however—he of the 13th-place finish at the Derby—doesn't seem to be a strong contender. 

Of the three horses that didn't run at the Derby, Divining Rod seems to be the most likely to challenge the top contenders. In five career races, the horse has two wins, finished second once and finished third once (all four of those contests were on dirt). 

Divining Rod is a dangerous stalker worth watching. It would be surprising if he beat American Pharoah, but he could muck up the Derby champion's run if jockey Javier Castellano takes him on a similar trip to American Pharoah. 

Finally, there is Federico Tesio Stakes winner Bodhisattva and Tale of Verve. You need look no further than each horse's odds to see that both are considered the longest of long shots at the Preakness. 

The Undercard

Race	Grade
$300,000 Longines Dixie	G2
$150,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap	G3
$150,000 Gallorette Handicap	G3
$100,000 The Very One	n/a
$100,000 Sir Barton	n/a
$100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes	n/a
$100,000 Chick Lang Stakes	n/a

War Correspondent should be the favorite in the Longines Dixie, the premier race on the undercard schedule. The horse, which has three top-three finishes in a row, will face strong competition from Legendary, while Manchurian High and Long on Value should make noise as well. 

Happy My Way will be looking to repeat a victory at the Maryland Sprint Handicap, though the horse is winless in five straight races since the triumph at Pimlico a year ago. Still, in those five races, he does have three second-place finishes, so he'll be expected to be in the running along with Coup de Grace, Picko's Pride and Souper Knight.

Grand Bili is an interesting horse to watch in the Chick Lang, though Bob Baffert's Gimme Da Lute and Todd Pletcher's Blame Jim are the favorites, while Donworth and Fame and Power look like the favorites in the Sir Barton.

The Gallorette Handicap, on the other hand, appears to be any horse's race to win and has a number of contenders that could emerge, including Hard Not to Like, Watsdachances, Mango Diva, Token of Love and Emotional Kitten.