Preakness Stakes wagering for the 2008 Preakness Stakes begins with Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown and goes from there Big Brown earned a powerful 109 Beyer Speed Figure in the Kentucky Derby and will be the odds-on favorite in Preakness wagering. Let’s take a look at some Preakness Stakes facts.
2008 Preakness Stakes wagering usually has the Kentucky Derby winner favored but rarely is he favored to the extent that Big Brown will be in this year’s Preakness. In Preakness Stakes history a favorite has gone off at odds-on a total of 25 times. The lowest Preakness Stakes wagering odds in history were on Citation in 1948. Those Preakness wagering odds were 1-10 on Citation. Recent history shows that Smarty Jones was just under 4-5 odds when he won in 2004. Barbaro was even lower at odds of 3-5 but broke down in 2006. Fusaichi Pegasus went off at Preakness Stakes wagering odds just lower than 2-5 and lost in 2000.
Overall, Preakness Stakes wagering favorites have done pretty well through the years. The favorite in Preakness wagering wins over 40% of the time which is well about the normal horse racing average of 33%. In the past 8 years, Preakness Stakes wagering favorites have won five times although the last two years upsets have occurred with Curlin winning in 2007 over Street Sense in Preakness Stakes wagering and in 2006 when Bernardini won as Barbaro broke down.
The Preakness Stakes wagering field is always much smaller than the Kentucky Derby field. A maximum of 20 horses can run in the Derby but only 14 can be part of the Preakness Stakes wagering field and rarely do that many ever enter. The average field is between 8-10 horses in Preakness Stakes wagering.
The top finishers behind Big Brown in the Derby will not be part of the Preakness wagering field. Denis of Cork, who finished third, and Tale of Ekati, who was fourth, are both going to wait for the Belmont. The rest of the Kentucky Derby field will probably skip the Preakness with only Recapturetheglory under even minor consideration.