American Pharoah's Last-Minute Preakness Stakes Odds and Predictions

Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah will enter the 2015 Preakness Stakes as the odds-on favourite, despite an unfavourable draw, and if all goes according to plan, Bob Baffert's colt should be making a push for the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in just a few weeks.

Here are the latest odds for the Preakness, courtesy of Odds Shark, as well as the final draw for Saturday's big race:

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	10-13
2	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	9-2
3	Mr. Z	Corey Nakatani	D. Wayne Lukas	25-1
4	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	20-1
5	Tale of Verve	Joel Rosario	Dallas Stewart	50-1
6	Bodhisattva	Trevor McCarthy	Jose Corrales	33-1
7	Divining Rod	Javier Castellano	Arnaud Delacour	22-1
8	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	17-4

After his big win at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, American Pharoah is once again the fan-favourite and clear front-runner at Pimlico. Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch is one of many hoping for a repeat performance from the colt:

Trainer Baffert has never won the Kentucky Derby and gone on to lose the Preakness, but that streak could continue on Saturday without American Pharoah passing the finish line in first place.

Stablemate Dortmund will also be running at Pimlico, and after his third-placed finish at Churchill Downs, the previously undefeated giant will be out for revenge.

Bleacher Report's Jessica Paquette likes his chances:

Baffert discussed the Preakness and his chances for success ahead of the race:

American Pharoah didn't receive a favourable draw, starting the race from Post 1, while stablemate Dortmund will start alongside the favourite.

Behind those two, fans and pundits will keep a keen eye on Firing Line, the colt that really challenged American Pharoah at Churchill Downs.

Jockey Victor Espinoza elected to steer American Pharoah well wide of his competitors, and as a result, the gap between the winner and Firing Line was a lot smaller than most will have expected. We won't know how well both recovered until the race starts, but Firing Line could give American Pharoah another stern challenge:

As reported by ESPN's John Buccigross, the favourites haven't done very well at Pimlico in the last few years:

"

American Pharoah is currently 3-5, but odds-on favorites haven’t fared well in the Preakness, winning just 3 of the last 9 instances.

— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) May 16, 2015"

Despite the unfavourable draw and Buccigross' interesting statistic, it's easy to see why most believe American Pharoah will win the second leg of the Triple Crown after his strong showing in the Kentucky Derby.

Pimlico's shorter track is well suited for the colt's incredible closing speed, and while Dortmund and Firing Line certainly aren't slow horses by any means, American Pharoah should be able to ride along his stablemate and close the deal in the final furlongs, similar to how the Kentucky Derby played out.

Ed DeRosa of TwinSpires.com believes Dortmund is better suited to win the Belmont Stakes, for instance, due to his sheer size:

Firing Line had to dig deep to beat Dortmund for the first time in his career, and the colt wins races more with stamina than raw pace. At Pimlico that should give American Pharoah the advantage.

Prediction

The Preakness Stakes may be every bit as exciting as the Kentucky Derby, but ultimately, American Pharoah should grab another win and keep the Triple Crown dreams alive. Whether he has the stamina to triumph at Belmont is debatable, but he will have his shot at Triple Crown glory.

Follow @ReverschPass