Kentucky Derby 2017: Using Race Results, Highlights to Predict Preakness Winner

Always Dreaming is a strong pick to win the second leg of the Triple Crown at Preakness 2017 after impressively riding to a comfortable victory by 2 ¾ lengths at this year's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

The Todd Pletcher-trained horse has the pedigree and form to make it two for two in the Triple Crown stakes on Saturday, May 20. Before a closer look at Always Dreaming's chances at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, here's the full order of finish and the payouts from Louisville:

Position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	Always Dreaming	John R. Velazquez	Todd A. Pletcher	-
2	Lookin At Lee	Corey Lanerie	Steven M. Asmussen	2 3/4
3	Battle of Midway	Flavien Prat	Jerry Hollendorfer	7 3/4
4	Classic Empire	Julien R. Leparoux	Mark E. Casse	8 3/4
5	Practical Joke	Joel Rosario	Chad C. Brown	9 1/2
6	Tapwrit	Jose L. Ortiz	Todd A. Pletcher	10 1/4
7	Gunnevera	Javier Castellano	Antonio Sano	13 1/4
8	McCraken	Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr.	Ian R. Wilkes	13 1/4
9	Gormley	Victor Espinoza	John A. Shirreffs	14 1/4
10	Irish War Cry	Rajiv Maragh	H. Graham Motion	16 1/2
11	Hence	Florent Geroux	Steven M. Asmussen	18 1/2
12	Untrapped	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Steven M. Asmussen	19 1/4
13	Girvin	Mike E. Smith	Joe Sharp	19 1/4
14	Patch	Tyler Gaffalione	Todd A. Pletcher	20 3/4
15	J Boys Echo	Robby Albarado	Dale L. Romans	22 3/4
16	Sonneteer	Kent J. Desormeaux	J. Keith Desormeaux	26
17	Fast and Accurate	Channing Hill	Michael J. Maker	28 1/2
18	Irap	Mario Gutierrez	Doug F. O'Neill	40 1/2
19	State of Honor	Jose Lezcano	Mark E. Casse	45 1/2
20	Thunder Snow	Christophe Soumillon	Saeed bin Suroor	DNF

Pos.	Post	Horse	Win	Place	Show
1	5	Always Dreaming	$11.40	$7.20	$5.80
2	1	Lookin At Lee		$26.60	$15.20
3	11	Battle of Midway			$20.80
4	14	Classic Empire
5	19	Practical Joke

Here are the race highlights of Always Dreaming winning at Churchill Downs, per the race's official YouTube channel:

Always Dreaming a Worthy Favorite for Preakness

As the highlights show, Always Dreaming made his move with around a half-mile to go. The sudden burst of speed and strength was impressive to power through the crowd and nose in front of early pace-setter State of Honor.

However, Always Dreaming made the strongest case for winning at the Preakness by breaking away over the final stretch. There was an acceleration from Pletcher's horse to open up a lead of two furlongs.

Yet it was the way jockey John R. Velazquez and his colt hit the next gear up to push a further furlong in front. This level of closing speed should intimidate the rest of the field at the Preakness.

If there is a worthy contender to keep an eye on, it's Classic Empire. The three-year-old suffered some misfortune in Louisville, becoming embroiled in a triple-horse pileup also involving McCraken and Irish War Cry.

Given how this collision knocked the horse off his stride, Classic Empire merited praise for the way he managed to recover enough to still finish fourth. In fact, New York Racing Association analyst Andy Serling commended the way Classic Empire finished:

Serling also felt Classic Empire was the only horse in Kentucky able to stand comparison with the eventual winner:

It's easy to believe if Classic Empire avoids the kind of gaffe experienced in Louisville, he will be the main threat to Always Dreaming in Maryland.

Yet it's still tough to go against Pletcher's winner, a horse coming off four victories in a row. The last two of those wins, in Kentucky and at Florida, have both come with room to spare, ample proof Always Dreaming has what it takes to claim the next leg of the Triple Crown at the Preakness.