By HorseracingFLA Staff
Saturday May 16 – It’s several hours until post time for the Preakness, and we have looked at the race-day handicapping angles.
So barring any late developments we are predicting this order of finish: Firing Line, American Pharoah. Divining Rod, Dortmund.
In our suggested bets, we will attempt to make up for our losses in the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.
We had a total of $132 in suggested bets and had a return of $75.30 for a loss of 42 percent of investment.
We built our Oaks bets around late-running Stellar Wind and Birdatthewire who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
We had Oaks winner Lovely Maria with American Pharoah in the Oaks-Derby double, paying $27.30 for a $1 bet. We also had a $1 American Pharoah – Firing Line exacta for $36.30. And we had $3 on American Pharoah to win, paying $11.70.
The Preakness field, with post positions:
1 American Pharoah
2 Dortmund
3 Mr. Z
4 Danzig Moon
5 Tale of Verve
6 Bodhisattva
7 Divining Rod
8 Firing Line
Dortmund finished third in the Derby and will be back in the Preakness along with American Pharoah and Firing Line.
A key question is which of any of the three might bounce downward after their Derby stretch duel.
We expect that it could be Dortmund. Frosted (not in the Preakness) almost caught Dortmund in the Derby, and Dortmund reportedly has lost some weight amid the two-week turn-around.
So, we are putting the rested and improving Divining Rod into our main exacta box. Divining Rod won the 1 1/16 mile Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 11th.
As a hedge we have a $5 win bet on Dortmund and have him in the second spot in our exacta and tri part wheels.
We also have the consistent Danzig Moon. The D. Wayne Lukas-trained Mr. Z and the late-running Tale of Verve on the bottom of those exotics.
Suggested bets:
$ 3 Win Place 2 $6
$ 3 Win Show 7 $6
$ 5 Win 8 $5
* $1 exacta box 1 7 8 $6
* $2 exacta box 1 8 $4
* $1 exacta part wheel $10
First 1 8
Second 1 2 3 4 5 8
* 50 tri box 1 7 8 $ 3
* 50 cent tri part wheel $10
First 1 8
Second 1 2 8
Third 2 3 4 5 6 7
