The Preakness – the Second Leg of Horse Racing's Triple Crown
As the field takes shape for the 131st running of the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, the question on everyone’s minds is do we finally have a horse that can win the Triple Crown? On paper, Barbaro is the horse to beat, and after his decisive win at the Kentucky Derby, he appears capable of beating all comers. But this is horse racing and no matter how it looks on paper we still have to run the race. Barbaro with Edgar Prado on board has won all 6 of his lifetime starts, 4 of his wins in 2006 and all at distances of a mile or more (his first 3 races were on the turf). Barbaro will be the odds on favorite for the Preakness. Gone are the double digit returns when we picked him for the Derby so most of us are left looking for horses to combine him with for the exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers. Even though we want to see him win, at the probable scant return for a win, one must look to see if there’s a horse in the field that can best him. Now that Ah Day has passed on the Preakness, eight other horses will be looking to spoil Barbaro’s bid for the second leg of the Triple Crown. Two are returning from their Derby bids and six more that skipped the Run for the Roses. Brother Derek with Alex Solis up finished in a dead heat for fourth in the Derby, 9 1/2 lengths back after being steadied twice. With a career record of 6 wins out of 9 starts (3 out of 4 this year) Brother Derek had 4 straight wins before the Derby. Sweetnorthernsaint ridden by Kent Desormeaux was favored to win the Derby, but finished a disappointing seventh by 13 lengths. That though, after a bumped start and being steadied before finally tiring. With a lifetime 3 wins out of 7 starts, all 3 have come this year, and the shorter distance of the Preakness might be more to his liking. Bernardini with Javier Castellano in the saddle is the most lightly raced entrant, beginning his career in January of this year and is 2 wins for 3 starts with his last race April 29 winning the Withers Grade 3 at Aqueduct. The question is can he step his game up to Grade 1 level. Like Now with either Garret Gomez or F. Jara in the stirrups is 4 for 8 lifetime and 3 for 4 this year having won 3 straight before finishing second in the Lexington Grade 2 by 1 1/4 lengths but still in front of Greeley’s Legacy by 3 1/4 lengths and Hemingway’s Key by 7 3/4 lengths. Like Now won his only other outing at this distance in the Gotham Grade 3 in March where he beat Sweetnorthernsaint who finished third by 3/4 lengths. Greeley’s Legacy with Richard Migliore signed on to ride was last out April 22 in the Lexington Grade 2 and finished fourth by 4 1/2 lengths to Showing Up. At only 2 wins out of 11 tries, Greeley’s Legacy’s last win was in February in a $75k Optional Claiming race at Aqueduct and has never won a stakes race. Diabolical ridden by Ramon Dominguez is 2 for 8 lifetime with his last outing and first win of the year on April 25 in an $38k Allowance race at Delaware, winning by 8 1/4 lengths. Diabolical has no Graded Stakes wins having finished on better than second at this level. Hemingway’s Key with Jeremy Rose up is 2 for 6 lifetime and 0 for 4 this year. His last time out was April 22 in the Lexington Grade 2 finishing eighth by 9 lengths, 4 1/2 lengths behind Greeley’s Legacy and has finished no better than sixth in Graded Stakes competition. Platinum Couple rounds out the field of nine with Jose Espinoza aboard again and is 2 for 9 lifetime and 0 for 4 this year. Platinum Couple finished fifth in his only Graded Stakes outing, the Wood Memorial in April, and his last win was in December in the Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct. Can Barbaro win the Preakness and go on to be the next Triple Crown winner? He has the breeding and the talent, but one hundred and thirty two horses have won the Kentucky Derby, to date only twenty horses have gone on to win the Preakness. Will Barbaro make it twenty one? Preakness Facts:
The first Preakness Stakes was held in 1873 with a prize of $2,050.00 at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland at a distance of a mile and a half, but has been run at six different distances between a mile and a mile and a half before stabilizing at a mile and three sixteenths in 1925 Pimlico is America’s second oldest active track The Preakness Stakes is named after Preakness the first horse to win the “Dinner Party Stakes” (now known as the Dixie) which was the first stakes race run on Pimlico’s opening day October 25, 1870 The Preakness has not always been run at Pimlico; from 1890 until 1908 it was held at in New York, first at Morris Park and later at Gravesend, these are known as “the Lost Preaknesses” Survivor won the first Preakness by 10 lengths, still the largest margin of victor to date Four fillies have won the Preakness Slightly more than half to the Preakness races have been won by bays A Pimlico tradition since 1909; as soon as the Preakness winner is declared official a painter applies the colors of the winner’s silks to the weather vane atop the replica of the Old Clubhouse cupola, the original having been destroyed by fire in 1966 In 1918 the Preakness was run in two divisions due to the number of entrants providing two Preakness winners that year, War Cloud and Jack Hare Jr. About The Author: C Wayne is the Executive Vice-President of Picks and Plays, Inc. and an author and lecturer on gaming and handicapping. You are invited to visit http://www.picksandplays.com and receive free membership and the free daily report from the home of 'The Best in Handicapping.' |
Other Horse Racing System Articles
All You Need To Know About Motorcycle Spark Plugs Motorcycle spark plugs have already caused several misfires. It can also tend to break into two when you try to remove them. These are instances when you are wasting money over low quality and non-durable spark plugs.There has been a lot of puffing going out in the motorcycle market. Some are talking about horse power advantages. Nonethel ...Las Vegas Odds & Ends The Las Vegas Hilton, home of the prestigious SuperContest football handicapping competition, will give away $10,000 in weekly drawings throughout the upcoming season as the resort turns its legenday theater into "Football Central" on NFL Sundays.Food and drink specials, including $1 hot dogs and draft beer, .will be served beginning with ...Two Party Madness Mathematics suggests that a two party political system should be twice as good as a one party system. The reality is multiplication. One times one = two. A couple, dancing as one. Republicrats and Democans in a blurring identity crisis.The disenfranchised sit out this dance and pray for miracles. We ignore a simple and obvious political s ...The Triple Crown - Horse Racing's Ultimate Challenge The Triple Crown, like so many of our best traditions, wasn’t created, it grew into being. During the late 1800’s three different tracks created races to test the new crop of three year olds. These three races, the Belmont Stakes, the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby were held in the same year for the first time in 1875. It wasn’t until 44 ye ...Sports Betting Truths The first ever recorded sports bets, took place on 10 September 1858, by two spectators watching a game between the Brooklyn Eckfords and the New York Mutuals, placed a 100$ bet as to whether or not John Holden would hit a home run. Holden himself was assured 25$ if he hit, he did and after the game all the debts were settled.In 1865 agai ...Gambling Myths 101 Myths and rumors come with every gambling game. However undesirable, they can be a good source of recreation. The major cause of these beliefs and tales is the uncertainty related with gambling.Slot machines were first played in the late nineteenth century. Since then the machines have changed with more reels and increased number columns ...Preview of February's UK Horse Racing Sandown opens the month on February 4 with an excellent card and another set of possible Cheltenham clues. In recent seasons the Agfa Diamond Chase has suffered through small and uncompetitive fields but that worrying trend has started to change of late and this year’s renewal is sure to be a competitive one.Alan King’s tough stayer Fork ...Discount Motorcycle Helmets Motorcycle helmets are a must. Many helmets are available today in different price ranges. And for our convenience, companies provide helmets at a discount.Different companies make DOT-approved helmets in different sizes, colors and types. Some brands which are particularly popular among motorcyclists include HJC Helmets, Shoei Motorcycle ...Breeders Cup The Sam's Town horse handicapping crew is playing it close to the vest this Breeders' Cup.Gordon Jones, Patrick McQuiggan and Tony Vega believe they can bring home a winning Pick 6 or Classic superfecta for folks who participate in their betting pools.Thus, they're uncharacteristically keeping many picks cloaked and saving them for ...Breeders' Cup Analysis Judgment day is upon us in the Sport of Kings, as 121 of the top Thoroughbred racehorses in the world were pre-entered to run in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs Nov 5. There will be over $20 million in purse money on the line in the eight championship races, along with potential life-changing opportunities at the bettin ...Spread Betting Basics Spread betting is a complicated venture; the statement is nothing but a popular misconception. Proponents of this form consider it to be real easy, once the new player has understood the concept. It enables you to win or loose money depending on how close off or far you are in your betting. Spread betting can be an exciting way to win or loose m ...September's UK Horse Racing Action Punters are in for a busy time of it in September as the Flat racing season moves swiftly into its autumn phase starting with the William Hill Sprint Cup, a Group1 contest over six furlongs at Haydock on Saturday September 2.Class has traditionally been the defining factor in this well-contested sprint course and it’s therefore no surpris ...Do Sports Betting Systems Really Help You Win? Everyone who is involved in any kind of gaming, gambling, or betting as heard the stories of legendary people who have supposedly created the next foolproof betting system and have used the system themselves to help them to avoid losing and get higher profits over the long haul. The fact is that there is not a system in existence that can guaran ...Horse Racing's Premature Obituary Ok folks, it's time to break out the shovels to bury horse racing, again!We came across an article on ESPN.com written by Bill Finley entitled "2005 was a lousy year for horse racing." In his article Mr. Finley cites 9 reasons why 2005 was such a bad year for horse racing in America. Although we agree with several of his observations, n ...Betting Exchange Place Markets - Wise Up And Win How To Use The Betting Exchange Place Markets To Your AdvantageIntroductionIn article one, I introduced you to the Betting Exchange concept and explained the basics of LAY Betting (Lay to Lose). Now in this article, I'm going to introduce you to another unique and powerful feature of the betting exchanges, th ...Things To Do While Visiting Dublin With a population of almost half a million, Dublin is the capital and largest city on the island of Ireland. It was originated in 488AD as a shipping port while going through the Irish Sea and has progressively grown into a modern day city throughout the years.Today Dublin is a mixture of the old and the new Metro and they merge nicely fr ...Preview Of August's UK Horse Racing If Wimbledon in June means strawberries and cream, then racing in August can only signify Goodwood and York, two flagship festival meetings that dominate the month’s action beginning with five exciting days on the Sussex slopes.As popular as ever, Glorious Goodwood offers some top-class action and is often a meeting that puts profits in p ...Make Money Betting on Horses Are you in love with gambling on horse races? Do you believe that there is money to be made by betting on horses? Make money betting on horses today and begin treating yourself to better and more expensive belongings.Horse racing is a very popular gamblers sport and it seems that the gambling is all a chance, a guess, and some luck. Th ...USA Is Worried About The Online Gambling Popularity The topic of the USA struggle against on-line gambling industry disturbs the gambling community. There is the old Wire Act (1961) in force in the USA which prohibits to stake with the help of the phone, telegraph and other wire communication facilities outside the bounds of one’s own state. Gamblers consider that this ban does not apply to the I ...Be a Sharp Gambler The gambling world is full of people who just throw down hard earned money without thinking about what they are doing. Are you one of those people who will just go with the flow? If so, you are most likely a losing gambler or you are not winning as much money as you could be. There are three main factors that make up every successful gambler ...A Preview Of June's UK Horse Racing Comparing the current Flat turf season to a long train journey is one way of describing the roller-coaster campaign that comes to two of its most famous stops in June courtesy of the Epsom Derby and the five days of top-class racing at Royal Ascot later in the month.The Derby now occupies a Saturday slot in the racing programme that is mo ...Kansas Casinos There are five Kansas Casinos gamblers can enjoy while visiting the state. Kansas casinos are located in Horton, Mayette, Powhattan, and White Cloud and tourists should make a point to stop in one or more of the Kansas casinos during their stay. Likewise, in addition to the five Kansas casinos, tourists may also enjoy paying a visit to Kansas' W ...Betting Horse Racing So you don’t live anywhere near a racetrack. No problem! Today, betting horse racing online at tracks around the world has never been easier. The sites we’ll talk about are well-established, legal, secure, and can provide much of the same experience you would get if you were at the track…without leaving home!The basics of betting horse ra ...Greyhound Racing Basics In Egypt the greyhounds were mummified and buried with their masters. The Egyptians viewed them as supreme among all animals. The greyhounds also find place in the literary works of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Homer.In England, greyhound was considered as a status symbol back in 10th century. Only noblemen were permitted to hunt with them. L ...Sports Betting 101 Betting on sports is perhaps as old as the various games themselves. Millions of people have made huge money out of betting on sports. Possibly no game is left virgin of betting. All games have bookies and wages attached to them. Alike is the case with the countries across the globe. Betting is becoming a universal phenomenon nowadays. The diffe ...Is There Really a Statistical Approach to Betting the Horse Race? Have you ever wondered if there is a way to statistically approach betting on a horse race? Do you want to make money by betting on horse races? Is there really a statistical approach to betting the horse race?Making money on horse races is not as risky as it sounds. There are ways to study the odds and know your bets. There are ways ...Horse Racing - The Sport of Kings Thousands of years ago, man discovered that an animal from the Equus order was good for carrying his burdens and lightening his load. Then one day, as the human race as a whole are natural competitors, we began to use that animal, called the horse, to race against others.Then man began breeding horses to excel in speed and endurance. Wh ...The Belmont Stakes – The Third Jewel in Horse Racing's Triple Crown With both Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and Preakness winner Bernardini out of the race, the 138th Belmont Stakes, horse racing’s final leg of the Triple Crown, appears to be up for grabs.This year’s best prospect for the Triple Crown, Barbaro, is recovering from a life threating injury sustained in the Preakness. In 131 years of horse r ...
|
