All eyes are set going to be on Always Dreaming at the Preakness Stakes. He's the Kentucky Derby winner and the only horse left with a chance at claiming the Triple Crown. He's the odds-on favorite to head to Belmont with a shot at glory, but the field of nine others standing in his way will certainly try to make life hard on him on Saturday.
The Preakness Stakes is one of the premier events of the year on the horse racing calendar and shouldn't be missed by bettors on Saturday, May 20, 2017. Post-time from Pimlico Race Course is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET, and all of the action can be seen live on NBC.
Preakness Stakes Morning Line Odds and Preakness Stakes Post Positions
1: Multiplier 30/1
2: Cloud Computing 12/1
3: Hence 20/1
4: Always Dreaming 4/5
5: Classic Empire 3/1
6: Gunnevera 15/1
7: Term of Art 30/1
8: Senior Investment 30/1
9: Lookin At Lee 10/1
10: Conquest Mo Money 15/1
Top Contenders
It's fairly clear that the two choices here are going to be Always Dreaming and Classic Empire. Aside from these two, there isn't a horse in the field with better odds than 10 to 1, and the degree of belief in Lookin At Lee at 10 to 1 isn't quite as high as it was at the Kentucky Derby when he was a significantly greater longshot.
What really makes Always Dreaming such a dreamy Preakness pick on Saturday is the fact that he should have no problem running his race out of the #4 post. He's got absolutely nothing in terms of speed to his inside except for maybe Cloud Computing, and even if he doesn't beat Cloud Computing to the rail, running second outside is no big deal. It would be bad if he had to start from the far outside and ultimately work around the rest of the pack to get to the rail in the first 10 strides or so, but this is no big deal, and Always Dreaming stands no chance of being left in a four- or five-wide spot.
Classic Empire didn't get a chance to run the stalking race he would prefer at the Kentucky Derby after a really bad break, but he should have a much better chance now. We would prefer if he was to the inside of Always Dreaming, but we think these two are going to basically go around the track together, perhaps without any other interference or challenges from other colts.
Preakness Stakes Picks
If you were looking for some ponies who could mount a challenge in the Preakness Stakes, we would recommend Gunnevera and Conquest Mo Money.
In the case of Conquest Mo Money though, we've got a horse who really needed to draw to the rail who ended up on the far outside and is going to have to expend a lot of energy just to avoid a horribly wide first turn.
In the case of Gunnevera, his late closing style probably isn't right for a race like this one. Speed and positioning is usually rewarded in the Preakness, and Gunnevera has neither of those things. That said, in a race full of closers, one of them is going to have to at least hit the board, and Gunnevera seems like the best bet to potentially run down the boys at the top.
But if we're being honest, this race really is all about Classic Empire and Always Dreaming. An exacta between these two won't make you rich, but it could be a reasonable payoff, particularly if Classic Empire ends up on top. We think he's actually the better of the two horses, and we could see him win a speed duel that lasts the length of the Preakness Stakes to spoil the Triple Crown bid.
Preakness Stakes Odds: #5 Classic Empire - #4 Always Dreaming - #6 Gunnevera
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