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 Sport Betting Articles
Hip-Hop Breaks Out At Boxing Match Saturday night there was a boxing match for the Welterweight title between fighters Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah. The event was promoted by legendary promoters Bob Arum and Don King. Trying to drum up support for the Pay-Per-View event, the promoters labeled it some sort of "hip-hop summit." Allegedly, the "heavy-hitters" would be there includ ...Betting Besides the Bowl Super Bowl XL is, of course, the talk of the town, but sports bettors have other events on which to wager leading up to the big day.Basketball, college and pro, and golf are among the biggies, but the horses and buggies are in action -- or soon will be -- too.Thoroughbred racing already has kicked off its run to the Triple Crown, b ...Understanding Information "Companies run on information, not data." - Bryce's LawINTRODUCTIONI have been doing a lot of reading lately regarding the latest fads in the industry, particularly in the area of "Agile Methodologies," "Business Rules," "Information Architecture," and "Enterprise Architecture." There is a considerable amount of mate ...Easy Ways To Make Money Today, there are umpteen easy ways to make money effortlessly. These avenues may be legitimate or illegitimate, but they share the common trend of providing easy money. However, it must be said right now that "easy money" is just a euphemism for a way to make money in a non-traditional way. There is no such thing is truly easy money.Betti ...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 ...What You Need To Learn To Ride You need 3 essential things to learn to ride - an instructor, the right equipment and a love for horses. A love for horses is not something you learn or you can buy. It is a love already have. You might not know it yet, but usually if you love most animals then you will for sure fall in love with horses.Looking for a good instructor shoul ...Soccer - Not Just The World Cup The games are over, the battle is won. Italy are now crowned kings of the world - at least for the next four years. The French team were downcast, beaten on a penalty shoot-out, their captain dismissed because of a violent indiscretion.Talk of provocation on his behalf. An accusation that personal insults were levelled at Zidane from a ...Accessing a Poker Cardroom Online One of the most popular types of websites on the internet today is poker and casino websites. This is a sport and game which is challenging as well as intellectually stimulating. Many people appreciate this combination of attributes in their entertainment. Accessing these gambling sites is not complicated at all, and people also appreciate th ...Greatness at the PGA Tour The PGA Championship or the "Glory's last shot" as it is also known, took part last week at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago. This official money event on both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour, offered this year a purse of $6.8 million and for all the golf fans, we got some of the best golf players in the world showing us what they're made ...October Dreams Fade in a NY Minute Apparitions of a dream New York subway World Series have dissipated into the crisp autumn air for fans, TV execs and Las Vegas bookmakers alike.The Mets made it to the National League finale, but the Yankees won't advance in October's pennant race, thanks to the feisty, underdog Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball's 2006 Cinderella club ...NFL Preseason Betting It's that time of the year again—finally. Preseason football has started, and we are gearing up for the NFL season. Football is one of them most bet on sports in sports betting. Basketball is the other major sport. Each preseason many sports fans go to the sportsbook to lay down hard earned money on the games to make them more interesting. Is th ...Baseball's Favorite Teams - Los Angeles Lakers Part 2 As the Minneapolis Lakers, the team was dominate over the NBA and was recorded as the first basketball dynasty. The franchise won five championships in six years (running from 1949 to 1954, with the exception of 1951). The team moved to Los Angeles in 1960, where they continued to play future Hall-of-Famers, including Wilt Chamberlain. Howeve ...Baseball Tradition Baseball holds a special place in the hearts of many Americans. Regardless of the international appeal of the sport, the United States sees it as a favorite pastime. From street games of stickball or afternoons playing catch in the backyard to professional Minor Leagues and Major League Baseball, people of all ages love this sport.Baseb ...Boxing Styles: The Three Main Types There are three main types of styles that boxers fall into when boxing. These reflect how they move and how they punch. It is generally thought that the styles are a lot like rock, paper, scissors in that one style beats another while it will generally lose to the third. However, this has been disproved many times and is only accepted as true ...Must See Hockey I think I've just seen another miracle on ice ...The National Hockey League is back on one of the major American broadcast networks. Some would call that a miracle in itself, but I'm taking higher ground. Specifically, I'm referring to the quality of the broadcast. It's one of the best-produced sports programs I've seen.Kudos to NB ...England under Steve McClaren - A New Beginning for England's Football Team? Steve McClaren was always going to need a big performance, against European Champions Greece, last night. Not just because it was his first game in charge, but after the very public dropping of David Beckham the team needed to show that they could put the disappointment of a poor World Cup behind them and make a new start under the McClar ...Boxing Gloves During the original inception of the use of boxing gloves, their primary use is to protect the knuckles of the fighters. However, in recent years the padding requirements of boxing gloves have increased. The first boxing gloves were eight ounces; today the boxing gloves used in boxing leagues are ten ounces. The original function of protectin ...Internet Sportsbook Every day more and more people are finding out how convenient it is to do their sports betting on the internet. The key is finding the right internet sportsbook. On an internet sportsbook you can place bets quickly and easily from the comfort of your own home. You simply open an account and start betting. A good internet betting site will make s ...Used RV — What Are the Real Cost Savings? Nearly every RV buyer understands that buying a used RV can represent savings right off the bat due to the depreciation factor. It doesn’t matter what type of used RV you are discussing-every tent trailer to diesel pusher loses value as soon as it leaves the lot with the buyer for the first time. But there are some buyers that don’t value the ...Juan Montoya Leaves Formula One For NASCAR Famous Formula One racer Juan Pablo Montoya has officially turned in his keys and has embarked on a new career in NASCAR. As of Tuesday July 11, Montoya announced that he will be driving on Chip Ganassi’s Nextel Cup team. Being that there are 4 Nextel Cup races left it is a sure thing that Montoya will make his debut some time this year before ...World Cup Goalkeepers - Edwin van der Sar A towering personality Edwin van der Sar is probably the best goalkeeper to have played for Netherlands. Born on the October 29, 1970, he began his football career by playing for his local city team FC Foreholte in Voorhout.His athleticism and sharp reflexes under the bar brought him to the notice of major clubs. He first moved to VV Noor ...League Two Betting Review - 23 April 2006 Carlisle became the first team in League Two to secure promotion following their 1-1 draw at Mansfield. The Stags looked to have delayed the promotion party when top goal scorer Ritchie Barker netted after 63 minutes but the Cumbrians levelled in the 92nd minute through their leading marksman Karl Hawley. The draw, available at 12/5 before kick- ...Group E Predictions for Germany 2006 Italy is a team that regardless of winning the World Cup in 1934, 1938 and in 1982 has not performed up to the expectations in the past. If I was to sum up their show off in Japan Korea World Cup the word boring is the first that comes to my mind. The strategy was to get people to focus on how hard it is to face a host nation.Marcelo Lipp ...Manchester United a Tribute to the Busby Babes As Manchester United celebrates the Busby Babes and remembers the disaster that killed 23 people connected with the club it is important to remember the team’s achievements preceding that disastrous night. Matt Busby’s team had an average age of just 22 when it won the championship in 1955-56. The darlings of football looked set to dominate foot ...Football Camp for Kids Since the devastation of Katrina, residents in New Orleans have been trying to put their lives back together. NFL stars Peyton Manning and his brighter Eli have given time, money, and support to their city. They will be donating more time at their family’s summer football camp started by their father eleven years ago to help kids improve their s ...Why Do They Call It March Madness? It is a great time of the year for good basketball fans nothing on our sports calendar compares to March Madness.Before Syracuse and Pittsburgh advanced to the final, no team had ever achieved four games to gain the Big East tournament. If you just focused on Syracuse and the way McNamara carried the team on his back in the Big East, you ...Auto Racing Racing cars began soon after the launch of petrol-fuelled cars in the nineteenth century. The first race was organized by a Paris magazine Le Petit Journal in 1894, to determine the best performers. A year later, the first real race was staged from Paris to Bordeaux, in France. International racing began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racin ...League One Betting Review - 6 March 2006 Southend went six points clear at the top of League One after an emphatic 3-0 win at local derby rivals and promotion hopefuls Colchester. Despite leading the division, the Shrimpers were 11/5 outsiders on the day but made a mockery of the odds with three goals in the opening half hour.Top goalscorer Fredy Eastwood broke the deadlock with ...
|
