Preakness Stakes

The Preakness field is narrowed to nine horses. Orb is the favorite and Departing, the winner of the Illinois Derby is second favorite, while Golden Cents is third at 8 -1.  Included are MyLute, Oxbow, Will Take Charge, and It's My Lucky Day, and Titletown Five, and maybe Governor Charlie.  On Tuesday, Bob Baffert will decide if he will run Governor Charlie in this race or not.  Vyjack will not run in this race his owner has decided.  He believes that he will try Vyjack on turf.

In an earlier post I discussed the nature of the Triple Crown stakes.  It is a very difficult thing for one horse to race in a few weeks against horses who have not raced at all and are considered fresh horses.  It would appear that only Departing, Governor Charlie, and Titletown Five qualify as fresh horses so if that axiom runs true, it is possible that one of those could defeat the winner of the Kentucky Derby, Orb. 

Usually, it is the third leg of the Triple Crown where an unknown out of the blue fresh horse steals away the crown from the victor of the first two legs.  But there have been occasions where it is the Preakness that is the tougher of the two legs.  So there is a chance that a horse could defeat Orb but most backers will find that unlikely.

Some believe that the crown has not been won due to the number of horses entered into the Derby.  It is as if the only reason these races are offered is just to win that elusive crown. It is a challenge and a testament to a horse's ability as well as his opponents, not the real reason to enter the race at all.  The real reason is as with any stakes race, a contest amongst horses of similar capabilities to learn which on a given day has the strength, stamina, endurance, and will to win.  

What makes horse racing more interesting and fun to bet in these times is the novelty of the exotic races, the trifecta, the superfecta, and the super high five bets.  Not just the owners benefit from fourth or fifth position, but also the gamblers who keep this game going.  It is amazing at how much one can win on an exotic trifecta alone.  The trifecta narrows it down to the first three horses so don't think that gamblers are necessarily for favorites to win all the time at all.  Orb will be having many who are willing for him to relinquish his title to another if the other pays a bettor a bigger return.

Rosie Napravnik will get a lot of backing.  Nobody would be dismayed if MyLute were to win this race with her riding him, but it is unlikely that Orb will be defeated by MyLute at this point in time.  Orb has been improving and improving so that he is on a run.  It is just interesting to see now how far that run will extend. He has won five races in a row. Can he make it six?  and then seven?  We will see.