Preakness 2015 Post Positions: Triple Crown Odds and Predictions for Field

After a few weeks of hype and hope, the Preakness Stakes is finally upon us, as the second leg of the Triple Crown is set to determine just how much the country cares about the Belmont Stakes.

In American Pharoah we must trust, then. The horse is currently 9-4 to win the Triple Crown, per OddsShark.com. Of course, there is the small matter of winning the Preakness first. Let's take a look at the full field for the race. 

Post Position	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Jockey	Prediction
1	American Pharoah	10-13	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza	1
2	Dortmund	15-4	Bob Baffert	Martin Garcia	3
3	Mr. Z	25-1	D. Wayne Lukas	Corey Nakatani	8
4	Danzig Moon	14-1	Mark Casse	Julien Leparoux	5
5	Tale of Verve	50-1	Dallas Stewart	Joel Rosario	6
6	Bodhisattva	50-1	Jose Corrales	Trevor McCarthy	7
7	Divining Rod	20-1	Arnaud Delacour	Javier Castellano	4
8	Firing Line	17-4	Simon Callaghan	Gary Stevens	2

It's hard to bet against American Pharoah. If you wanted to suggest the horse couldn't make it two wins in a row, you might point out his less-than-ideal starting post or the fact that he had the perfect run at the Kentucky Derby considering the slow pace Dortmund established. Or you might note that he didn't really separate from Firing Line until the very end of the race, a concern given the shorter Pimlico track at the Preakness. 

Of course, those concerns are pretty easily dismissed. Yes, American Pharoah is stuck on the inside, but in an eight-horse field, being on the inside hardly seems like a major concern. And part of the reason he perhaps didn't separate until the very finish was that Victor Espinoza took him on a pretty wide trip to avoid congestion around the final turn. Had he been able to run a tighter line, it might not have been so close. 

Frankly, the top-three trio of American Pharoah, Firing Line and Dortmund seems likely to dominate this race as well. There seems to be a pretty wide gulf in talent between these horses and the field. Remember, Dortmund hadn't lost a race until the Derby and has the overall speed to run wire-to-wire at the Preakness. 

And Firing Line gave American Pharoah everything he could handle and then some. You just have to wonder, however, if Firing Line's run at the Derby was his best punch and American Pharoah already proved he could withstand it. 

For folks craving drama, Firing Line is capable of providing it. If the horse can take American Pharoah down to the wire, the Preakness could be another thrilling race. 

Just don't expect American Pharoah to lose it. The Belmont Stakes is going to matter this year, folks.