Preakness Odds 2015: Jockeys to Trust, Fastest Horses and More Picks
One would think with a field of just eight horses, bettors would have it easy when it comes to the 2015 Preakness Stakes, right?
Think again.
Horse racing's Big Three—American Pharoah, Dortmund and Firing Line—at least for the moment, will attend. The other five run similar styles and can be just as fast, though. Keep in mind that unpredictable weather, post positions and more can influence the result, too.
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Even in a smaller field, there's a ton of information to digest before making a decision, so let's break down some of the finer details.
Preakness Viewing Information
Date: Saturday, May 16
Where: Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore
TV Time: 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET
Post Time: 6:18 p.m. ET
Channel: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
2015 Preakness Stakes Post Positions
| 1 | American Pharoah | 10-13 | Bob Baffert | Victor Espinoza | 1 |
| 2 | Dortmund | 9-2 | Bob Baffert | Martin Garcia | 3 |
| 3 | Mr. Z | 25-1 | D. Wayne Lukas | Corey Nakatani | 8 |
| 4 | Danzig Moon | 20-1 | Mark Casse | Julien Leparoux | 5 |
| 5 | Tale of Verve | 50-1 | Dallas Stewart | Joel Rosario | 4 |
| 6 | Bodhisattva | 33-1 | Jose Corrales | Trevor McCarthy | 7 |
| 7 | Divining Rod | 22-1 | Arnaud Delacour | Javier Castellano | 6 |
| 8 | Firing Line | 17-4 | Simon Callaghan | Gary Stevens | 2 |
Odds via Odds Shark as of 8 a.m. ET on May 16.
Predicting Fastest Horses
Dortmund
In a way, it's odd to even see Dortmund in the lineup.
One year removed from California Chrome just missing the feat, trainer Bob Baffert has a legit Triple Crown threat with American Pharoah, so one would think he'd do his best to preserve the odds.
Instead, he's running Dortmund, as Ray Paulick of PaulickReport.com captures:
It's an admirable move, but there's little doubt Dortmund will be one of the fastest horses in attendance Saturday.
Remember, Dortmund is the horse who loves to go wire to wire, winning six in such fashion before losing steam down the stretch at Churchill Downs. The spectacle at Pimlico's shorter, so Dortmund is a solid bet because of the likelihood he guns it from start to finish again.
American Pharoah
Call it an embarrassment of riches for Baffert.
There's little debate American Pharoah will blaze the course regardless of post position. He's won plenty of races in wire-to-wire fashion but also showed at the Kentucky Derby he can come out of an unfavorable post position and overtake others down the stretch.
Before Churchill Downs, questions lingered around American Pharoah. What would he do from a poor starting spot? How would he perform against actual competition after easy warm-ups?
There are no more questions. The first post is a downer, but the field is small enough to where it shouldn't make a huge difference, allowing American Pharoah to win however he so chooses.
Jockeys to Trust
Victor Espinoza
Without a Todd Pletcher-trained horse in the running, the small field at Pimlico doesn't offer the best handful of jockeys.
Victor Espinoza, of course, is an exception.
Folks should recognize Espinoza's name after a mad dash atop California Chrome last year, fizzling out only at the Belmont Stakes. This year, he guided American Pharoah well at Churchill Downs, and by the sound of it, the duo is ready for Saturday, per Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union:
If there's a jockey who knows how to squeeze the best out of each horse and handle the immense pressure of expectations on the Triple Crown stretch, it's Espinoza.
It helps he has a matching talent in American Pharoah.
Gary Stevens
At 52 years of age, Gary Stevens announced to the globe he's still around at the Kentucky
Derby.
There, Stevens put on a show atop Firing Line, holding the lead until late. It helps Firing Line is one of the sport's most underrated horses, but the presence of Stevens puts things over the top.
Now sprinkle in a favorable eighth post position, which Stevens seems quite happy about, as captured by Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated:
Freedom to move however he pleases and either set the pace or react to it in a strategic manner is a dangerous set of options in the hands of a veteran such as Stevens.
If American Pharoah's stablemate doesn't ruin his Triple Crown bid, it figures to be Stevens, armed with options and experience—and a member of the Big Three.
Stats and information via Preakness.com unless otherwise specified.
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