The 2019 Preakness Stakes is starting to take shape as an 11-horse race, with a couple Kentucky Derby runners going up against a handful of new shooters. With a likely solid favorite in Improbable as well as War Of Will taking a lot of money, the race should offer some good value on the rest of the field. Here’s a look at how things could unfold.
The Preakness Stakes is set to go on Saturday, May 18 from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore Maryland. As the second leg of the Triple Crown, the race offers a total purse of $1.5 million. They'll be racing 1 3/16 miles on the Pimlico dirt course.
While final entries will be taken on Wednesday, several sportsbooks like Bovada are already offering future bet odds and taking bets.
With the addition of Warrior's Charge (+1600) into the field, trainer Brad Cox now has two entries, with this one being a front-running horse, and Owendale (+800) as the closer. Warrior's Charge did show some good speed last out to win at the allowance level by six lengths racing 1 1/16 miles. The distance and competition is a lot tougher here.
Two of Alwaysmining's last three wins have been in wire-to-wire fashion, while last out he was rated just off the pace before taking over at the half-mile marker and going on to win by six lengths. That versatilty should serve him well and he could get the perfect trip.
Anothertwistoffate (+1000) has three front-running wins on the all-weather surface at Golden Gate Fields and has been beaten in two close finishes coming from just off the pace in his last two. He has to stretch out in distance again here.
Still looking for his first career win, Bodexpress (+1600) came from the far outside gate in the Kentucky Derby to get up close to the lead before the traffic trouble with Maximum Security caused him to be pulled up and drop way back. We'll never know if he could have kept in contention to the finish, but it would be nice if he had even one win on his resume to show he can do it at this level.
Advantage goes to: Alwaysmining
On class, Improbable is the best horse in the field, with a Grade 1 win to his name to go with a pair of graded-stakes runner-up finishes. He went off as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby where he got a pretty good trip but then showed little when the real running started in the stretch. The doubt that he can win at this kind of distance still lingers.
Signalman (+1200) probably can't be viewed as a true stalker as he tends to race in mid-pack before making one long sustained drive late in the race. That's usually the recipe for success for horses running one-turn miles and that may turn out to be where he belongs. But he's good enough to be in this field and getting a layoff after just missing the Derby qualifying might be beneficial.
Held up on the rail through most of the Derby and then right in the middle of all the traffic problems with Maximum Security, War Of Will gets an excuse for that one, as well as in his previous race where he lost his footing and was the well-beaten favorite. Prior to that he had won three straight including two graded-stakes. He gets one more chance here to put it all together.
Win Win Win (+1000) just got up to beat Signalman out of second place by a nose two races back to get into the Derby and knock that one out. He has yet to show himself to be a real threat at the graded-stakes level, and the Derby was the slowest race of his career since his very first start.
Advantage goes to: War Of Will
Bourbon War is going to get blinkers added for the race to try and help him focus a bit more, but equipment changes like that for big races like this always seem to be acts of desperation. He's consistant enough and will likely get a good pace set up to run at, but he could be the slowest horse in the field.
Getting up to win by a neck in the Oaklawn Invitational gained Laughing Fox (+2000) an invitation to the Preakness. The Oaklawn field wasn't very strong, and there's nothing in his past performance to suggest he can win at this level over several others in the field.
Trainer Cox is going to try and set this up for Owendale after he came on late to beat Anothertwistoffate in the (G3) Lexington Stakes where he was sitting in eighth place with 5/16 of a mile to run. We just don't like putting our faith in a pace collapse in a race where the top two favorites will likely be sitting right off the lead and ready to pounce.
Advantage goes to: Owendale
Check out the top-rated online racebooks listed below, and get in your future bets for the 2019 Preakness Stakes.
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