With odds of +6500 at post time, Country House was the second-biggest underdog to win the Run for the Roses, though he wasn’t the first horse to cross the finish line. Riders of several horses lodged an official complaint after the Kentucky Derby, claiming winner Maximum Security obstructed their path. Officials agreed and the horse that beat the field was stripped of a victory with second place Country House declared the winner.
Country House will not get a chance to complete the Triple Crown, as he developed an illness after the Kentucky Derby and was pulled from Preakness consideration. The Preakness Stakes takes place on Saturday, May 18, 2019, from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
Several online sportsbooks had Country House at +85000 to win the Triple Crown prior to his victory at Churchill Downs. Those odds dropped to +2000 after the horse won the Derby, but they are now off the board after the horse was taken out of Preakness consideration.
Triple Crown Odds at BookMaker.eu
Placing at the Kentucky Derby would have felt like a victory for the handlers of Country House, who wasn’t given much of a chance. His odds spiked to +6500 the day of the race, suggesting there was little confidence in his ability to outrun the field. But his time of 2:03.93 bested that of last year’s Triple Crown winner Justify on another sloppy track.
A maximum of 14 horses will run at the Preakness with that number likely to be much lower. There were only eight horses on the track last year when Justify outran the pack. One contender won’t be included in the field. Omaha Beach, the Kentucky Derby favorite before withdrawing due to an entrapped epiglottis, won’t race in the Preakness or Belmont Stakes. Kentucky Derby favorite Maximum Security will not run in the Preakness and now there will be no Derby winner in the race with the defection of Country House.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott finally got his maiden Kentucky Derby win, albeit in a controversial way. We didn’t expect Country House to finish second and no one saw the DQ of Maximum Security coming, allowing Country House to leave Churchill Downs with the roses and as Derby champion.
The Preakness Stakes figures to be the easier of the two remaining Triple Crown races with a smaller field and a shorter distance. We can expect to see a number of horses that didn’t run at Churchill Downs, leaving them fresh and in a good position to claim a victory. There will also be several horses looking to avenge the loss in the Kentucky Derby. The early favorite to win the Preakness is Improbable at odds of +300.
Early Preakness Odds
Improbable +300
War of Will +400
Alwaysmining +600
Bourbon War +600
Owendale +800
Anothertwistafate +1000
Laughing Fox +1000
Win Win Win +1200
Signalman +1400
Bodexpress +1600
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