On Monday, the 11 horses that will run on Saturday in the 145th edition of the Preakness Stakes had their post positions drawn, so now we know the field and where they will each start in the race. The post positions can be important, as some feel an outside position allows for horses to stay unfettered by the crowd and push up to the lead, while an inside position can cause a horse to get stuck in by the rail and the other horses.
Let’s take a look at the draw, the Odds to Win, and we have some thoughts about the contenders now that they’ve been assigned places.
Preakness Stakes Post Positions & Odds to Win
Odds to Win courtesy of JAZZSports.ag
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Odds* |
| 1 | Excession | Sheldon Russell | +3000 |
| 2 | Mr. Big News | Gabriel Saez | +1200 |
| 3 | Art Collector | Brian Hernandez Jr | +250 |
| 4 | Swiss Skydiver | Robby Albarado | +700 |
| 5 | Thousand Words | Florant Geraux | +600 |
| 6 | Jesus’ Team | Jevian Toledo | +3000 |
| 7 | Ny Traffic | Horacio Karamanos | +1300 |
| 8 | Max Player | Paco Lopez | +1250 |
| 9 | Authentic | John Velazquez | +165 |
| 10 | Pneumatic | Joe Bravo | +2000 |
| 11 | Liveyourbeastlife | Trevor McCarthy | +3000 |
*Odds are subject to change.
Updates from the Preakness Stakes: Thoughts on the Draw
After his win at the Kentucky Derby, Authentic is the favorite (especially since Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law is being held out to rest for the Breeders’ Cup in November). This race brings to a conclusion a Triple Crown that has taken much longer than a usual cycle; usually running from the first weekend in May until the first weekend in June, the Triple Crown this year began on June 20 and ends on October 3, with the Belmont Stakes serving as the first race, instead of the last. This pushes the Preakness much closer to the Breeders’ Cup than it would be in a typical year, and Tiz the Law’s ownership saw no reason for him to run both races since he had no chance at a Triple Crown.
Authentic is trained by Bob Baffert, who also has Thousand Words in his stable, giving the legendary trainer two horses in the field of 11 as he aims for his eighth Preakness Stakes, which would be a record for any trainer. Authentic led the Kentucky Derby from wire to wire, winning by 1 ¼ lengths.
Art Collector is the second choice in the early odds, sired by Bernardini, who won the Preakness back in 2006. He had to miss the Kentucky Derby with a hoof injury, and he has not entered a race since the Ellis Park Derby on August 9, which he won. In that race, he had Post #4, and he had come out of Post #3 in his two races before that, so having the #3 position now should be something familiar to him.
Swiss Skydiver looks to become the sixth filly to win a Preakness Stakes, and the first in 11 years. She will have Robby Albarado on board, who won the Preakness Stakes in 2007 while riding Curlin.
Don’t miss the latest in horse racing odds and matchups from JAZZHorseRacing – and enjoy the Preakness all throughout the week with our special set of articles dedicated to the race. Until Next Time!
