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Big Brown huge favorite at Preakness Stakes!
Big Brown, the Kentucky Derby winner, drew post 7 on Wednesday evening and is thus favorably placed for the 133 rd Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Track.
Big Brown's placement is expected to heighten expectations of his winning the contest at Pimlico Race Track, moving him closer to the coveted Triple Crown title that all competitors are aspiring for.
Bettors are expected to make Big Brown a heavy favorite against a field of horses who, with one exception, were not accomplished enough even to challenge him in the Kentucky Derby.
Big Brown broke from the outside in a 20-horse field in the Kentucky Derby, and from the outside in a 12-horse field in the Florida Derby. He won those races by 4¾ and five lengths, respectively.
While speed is the name of Big Brown's game, the colt showed in the Run for the Roses that he doesn't need the lead early to win the race.
Big Brown is unbeaten in four starts. He has been favored in his last three races, and will be again on Saturday, but the Pimlico Race Track contest will be the first time he has been an odds-on favorite.
Gayego, the only Kentucky Derby participant to show up for the Preakness Stakes, landed post 12, meaning Gayego will be one spot from the outside, just as he was in the Kentucky Derby.
Icabad Crane is the only horse who has ever raced previously at Pimlico Race Track. He won last month's Federico Tesio Stakes here. The winner of the Tesio normally gets extra support from the local horseplayers.
Icabad Crane has three wins in four lifetime starts. He likes to come from off the pace and will have Jeremy Rose in the irons. Rose was the winning jockey three years ago when Afleet Alex won the Preakness Stakes after nearly crashing to track coming into the stretch.
Several of the starters are coming out of winning efforts in their last race. Behindatthebar captured the Lexington Stakes, Hey Byrn won the Holy Bull Stakes at the Preakness distance and Macho Again took the Derby Trial.
Racecar Rhapsody was fourth in both the Lexington Stakes and Lane's End Stakes, his only two starts this year.
The Preakness Stakes, the shortest of the Triple Crown races at 1 3/16 miles, is the 12th race on a 13-race Pimlico Race Track card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday.
The purse for the Preakness Stakes is $1 million, with $600,000 going to the winner. For Big Brown, though, the stakes are higher, because he will be seeking to keep his hopes alive of becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years.
Saturday's forecast is for a high of 73 degrees, and a 20 percent chance of rain. |
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