Online Preakness Betting – A Derby Win is not a Preakness Guarantee
Even though Animal Kingdom was visually impressive in the Kentucky Derby, he sure didn’t scare anybody away from trying to get the sports book money in the 2011 Preakness betting and bettors should again get value with just about everybody in the race.
Only 7 of the last 20 Derby winners parlayed success to the Preakness.
The Derby itself was run unusually slowly early on. The pace generally is frantic, but this year Jesus Castanon had Shackleford on the lead off splits of :48.63 and 1:13.40 before that runner faded to fourth at 23-1.
It was the slowest run 6 furlongs on a fast Derby track in 64 years.
In contrast, last year’s Derby splits were :46.16 and 1:10.58 before Super Saver swooped in for the win.
The Preakness is run at a 16th of a mile shorter then the Derby but it was not always like that. It has been run at 7 different distances over the decades from a mile to a mile and a half. And it has not always been the 2nd leg in the Triple Crown.
Eleven times the Preakness was run before the Derby, and 11 times the Belmont Stakes was run prior to the Preakness. And the Derby and Preakness was run on the same day twice. For about the last 75 years, the Derby, Preakness, Belmont has been carded in that sequence.
In the Preakness last year, Lookin at Lucky sat 6th early, made the lead at the top of the lane to win by three quarters of a length to post a 102 Beyer.
The major contenders for the Preakness horse betting honors have done well of late training. Animal Kingdom has done nothing wrong; Astrology has trained fast since the Derby and seems to be doing very well.
Dialed In has galloped solidly coming to the 2nd jewel and is doing very well according this his trainer, Nick Zito.
Flashpoint is a horse that may make some noise. Trained by the clever Wesley Ward, the runner has been blowing away his stablemates in the morning at Keeneland but must transfer that style to Pimlico.
Flashpoint is coming to the race rested, he has speed, and that will give him first jump on the deep closers.
Mucho Macho Man could enjoy the slightly shorter distance of the Preakness as he ran well in the Derby despite being hung wide.
As far as the new shooters are concerned, horses that run in the Preakness but did not run in the Kentucky Derby, know that in a 4-year span starting in 1980, new shooters won three Preakness races.
But since then, only Red Bullet (2000), Bernardini (2006) and Rachael Alexandra were able to win in Baltimore after not running in the Derby.
So how does it unfold?
Astrology has to be sent out of there from the rail. Flashpoint has :44 and change speed to draw from, so he also guns.
Shackleford took them to the top of the lane in the Kentucky Derby and he be forwardly placed from the get go as will Dance City.
Mr. Commons had the lead down the tricky hillside at Santa Anita in his maiden breaker and the half that day went :43 3/5.
Mucho Macho Man was inching toward the winner late at Kentucky and should sit a nice mid-pack trip and would expect Animal Kingdom to settle behind what projects as a very legit pace.
When things start to sort themselves out coming to the final furlong, Johnny V will have Animal Kingdom poised to pounce but he will have a much harder time now holding off Dialed In, who hated the slow pace in the Derby while Sway Away will engulfed the other speed left.
It’s a repeat by Kingdom, with Dialed in and Sway Away in the gimmick.
Good luck.
