This Saturday marks the end of the 2020 Triple Crown cycle, as Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore prepares to host the Preakness Stakes. The COVID-19 pandemic shook up the Triple Crown as it has done with the vast majority of professional sport, delaying all three races and changing the order, so that the Belmont Stakes, usually the last race, came first, followed by a delayed Kentucky Derby and a delayed Preakness Stakes. The top two choices for sports bettors, at least with the current odds, are Authentic, winner of the Kentucky Derby, and Art Collector. But could you land a long shot?
Let’s take a look at some of the horses down the odds list.
Preakness Stakes 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.
Can You Hit on a Long Shot at the Preakness Stakes?
Why should you consider a long shot? In the last 10 years when the Kentucky Derby winner also ran in the Preakness Stakes, the Kentucky Derby winner won both races four times. However, that means that in six of those years, a different winner emerged at the Preakness. The winner of the Belmont Stakes, Tiz the Law, is not running at Pimlico, taking another potential top choice off the board.
Pneumatic is an extremely interesting long shot. Of the 11-horse field, Pneumatic has the least racing mileage on his legs, which should make his fresh. He started his career in February of this year, winning in a sprint. Since then, his metrics have improved with each race. At the Matt Winn Stakes (Grade III), he came in third, and he came in fourth at the Belmont Stakes in June. While his place did not improve, his Equibase Speed Figures were 90, 96, 98, 101 in his four races (with a mile race coming in April between his debut and the Matt Winn). At the Pegasus Stakes in August, he posted an Equibase Speed Figure of 113. If you consider that Authentic posted a 109 in winning the Churchill Downs, and Swiss Skydiver posted the same number at the Kentucky Oaks, then Pneumatic looks even more promising.
The Preakness Stakes runs 1 3/16 miles. The only horses in the field that have won at comparable distances are Swiss Skydiver (Alabama Stakes) and Authentic (Kentucky Derby), with both of those races running 1 ¼ miles. Pneumatic’s sire is Uncle Mo, who has sired more stakes winners at distances between 9 ½ and 10 furlongs than the sires of all of the horses in Saturday’s field. Pneumatic’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, has worked with two Preakness winners (Curlin in 2007 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009). So if you’re looking for a longshot that will return big odds, consider Pneumatic.
Give an EDGE to your horse-betting with JAZZ Horse Racing’s regular content. This whole week we will have a special set of betting articles dedicated to the Preakness. Until Next Time!
