Preakness Odds 2015: Post Positions Info and Vegas Lines for All Horses

One is the loneliest number for American Pharoah's Triple Crown pursuit.

The Kentucky Derby winner drew the unwelcoming No. 1 post position for Saturday's Preakness Stakes, pushing him to the inside after rallying to victory from the outside track. Trainer Bob Baffert didn't hide his frustration upon hearing the news.

"I never like the 1 hole," Baffert told USA Today's Dan Wolken. "That's the first time I've ever drawn the rail here. I've been so lucky. You don't like to see it, but if he's the best horse we'll find out."

Making matters worse for the Hall of Fame trainer, his other entrant, Dortmund, will run right next to American Pharoah at the No. 2 starting spot. Here's a look at the full post positions and odds, courtesy of Odds Shark, for the condensed eight-horse race at Pimlico.

Post Position	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Jockey
1	American Pharoah	10-13	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza
2	Dortmund	17-4	Bob Baffert	Martin Garcia
3	Mr. Z	33-1	D. Wayne Lukas	Corey Nakatani
4	Danzig Moon	20-1	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

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Since 1960, Tabasco Cat (1994) is the only horse to emerge victorious from the No. 1 post. Yet Baffert shouldn't feel too discouraged heading into the weekend.

He has already championed five Preakness winners in 15 tries, and all three of his Kentucky Derby victors triumphed at the second leg as well. Before the post reveals, he spoke much more confidently about the upcoming race to Richard Rosenblatt of the Associated Press.

"To me, the Preakness is the easiest of the three legs," Baffert said. "The Derby is the hardest. Once you get through there, you know your horses are in top form. It's a two-week turnaround. It's just a matter of getting there."

Just because the No. 6 post position has yielded the most champions (16) doesn't make Bodhisattva the new favorite. The horse ultimately matters more than the randomly assigned gate, and American Pharoah has won five straight starts, dominating races before securing a hard-earned triumph at Churchill Downs.

Besides, the Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman argued that the allotment will help the favorite aptly circumvent the Preakness course:

NBC Sports' Randy Moss agrees:

Also working in his favor, a miniature eight-horse pool lessens the inside clutter. By reserving his full stable for the Belmont Stakes, Todd Pletcher also saved American Pharoah from several noteworthy competitors, including Materiality, Carpe Diem and Competitive Edge.

While the more rested colts will toughen a possible Triple Crown bid, it won't matter anyway if Pharoah can't take care of business in Baltimore. Pletcher is content with sacrificing the middle leg, but he'll now have to jam his entrants into a crowded Belmont field while Baffert wields two heavy favorites in an eight-horse field.

Firing Line is the only significant threat to costing him a victory. After finishing second at the Kentucky Derby, sandwiched between American Pharoah and Dortmund, jockey Gary Stevens can wreak havoc from the outside, netting the No. 8 post position.

Although some fresher legs will challenge the Derby's top-three finishers, they once again look poised to make up the win, place and show.