Always Dreaming (-125), the Kentucky Derby winner, is the favorite to win the Preakness Stakes, second leg of the Triple Crown, according to the numbers released by Vegas sportsbooks.
The Preakness will be held on May 20 at the Pimlico Raceway in Baltimore.
With Puerto Rican John Velazquez riding it, Always Dreaming will start from the fourth post, next to Classic Empire, the Kentucky Derby favorite.
Always Dreaming started from fourth post in the Florida Derby and fifth post in Kentucky, two of the four races that the horse has won this year.
Classic Empire is the second favorite (+300) for the race of 9.5 furlongs. The colt finished in fourth after a contact and several problems at the start of the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago. It will start from the fifth post, which should guarantee a nice duel with Always Dreaming.
Classic Empire’s coach Mark Casse regrets that his horse failed to have a good race after the contact near the starting gate and on a muddy track at the Kentucky Derby. This time they hope for a better start and a fair chance at winning.
Always Dreaming and Classic Empire are the only horses with lines below +500.
Lookin At Lee, Kentucky Derby’s second and starting from the ninth post, is the third favorite at +1000.
Cloud Computing, starting from the second post, ranks fourth at +1200. There are a couple of horses that have a +1500 line, Gunnevera, seventh in the Kentucky Derby, and Conquest Mo Money. They start from the sixth and tenth posts respectively.
The Preakness has a guaranteed purse of $1.5 million, with $900,000 going to the winner. It is the shortest race of the Triple Crown and position carries far less importance at Pimlico than it does at Kentucky Derby’s Churchill Downs.
Note: the lines mentioned in this article are not official as they vary from sportsbook to sportsbook and change often throughout the day.
