The Favorite Rules in Preakness Stakes Odds

Preakness Stakes odds are all about the favorite. Unlike the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness is a race that is won by the favorite many times. It happened again last year in Preakness Stakes betting when Rachel Alexandra won and it could happen again on Saturday, May 15th.

Preakness Stakes odds list the favorite in the race at low odds many times.  Rachel Alexandra was a solid favorite last year even though she did not race in the Kentucky Derby.  Mine That Bird was the Kentucky Derby winner but he was the second choice in the wagering. That was unusual but what was not unusual is that the favorite won the race again.

Preakness Stakes betting simply has to start with the favorite.  In normal horse races you always look at the favorite first and that is even more the case in the .  The favorite in this race wins over 40% of the time.  This means you simply have to start your handicapping by looking seriously at the favorite.  This is not a race where you are looking to beat the favorite.  If you don’t really like the favorite then you really must have a strong reason to bet another horse. The history and trends are just too solid in this race to look for other horses. You can either take the favorite, play some exotics or don’t play the race.  That is not what you do in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont but the Preakness is different. The numbers are just too high for the favorite in the Preakness.  That usually means you want to play exactas and trifectas with the favorite keyed or boxed.  You just really don’t want to be going against the favorite in this race.

You can start your handicapping by looking at the Daily Racing Form but again, in the Preakness it really doesn’t matter. History has shown that the favorites win almost half the time so you don’t have to handicap anything.  Another big factor is that the winner in Preakness Stakes odds is a horse that comes out of the Derby. Last year was a huge exception to that rule and a weird scenario as Rachel Alexandra won the race.  Normally the best horse is not going to have skipped the Derby and then run in the Preakness.  Rachel Alexandra continued the trend of the favorite winning the race though.

You can make handicapping simple and easy for the Preakness.  You take a horse that was in the Derby or you take the favorite.  It is really that simple when betting the Preakness.

 

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