Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is the 1-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s 133rd Preakness Stakes, for which 13 three-year-olds were entered this morning. None of the other 12 horses are less than single-digit odds in linemaker Frank Carulli’s line.
Post positions won't be determined until late this afternoon, when a traditional draw will be held at the ESPN Zone in the Inner Harbor (5-6 p.m. EDT ESPN2).
The Preakness broke from the Kentucky Derby last year in reverting back to the time-honored “luck of the draw” instead of the two-tiered system Churchill Downs instituted 11 years ago where participants select their horses’ starting posts.
Besides Big Brown, Gayego is the only other Derby starter to advance to the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, marking only the sixth time since 1918 that only two starters made both races. The last time was in 1980 when Codex, who was not nominated to the Derby, defeated Derby-winning filly Genuine Risk.
Here are the horses, with riders and trainers, with Pimlico oddsmaker Frank Carulli’s odds:
Big Brown Desormeaux/Dutrow 1-2
Behindatthebar Flores/Pletcher 10-1
Gayego Smith/Lobo 8-1
Giant Moon Dominguez/Schosberg 30-1
Hey Byrn Lopez/Plesa 20-1
Icabad Crane Rose/Motion 30-1
Kentucky Bear Theriot/Baker 15-1
Macho Again Leparoux/Stewart 20-1
Racecar Rhapsody Albarado/McPeek 30-1
Riley Tucker Prado/Mott 30-1
Stevil Velazquez/Zito 30-1
Tres Borrachos T. Baze/Greely 30-1
Yankee Bravo Solis/Gallagher 15-1
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