Preakness Stakes
Road to the 2020 Preakness Stakes: Preakness Stakes Odds and Contenders
There’s more to Thoroughbred racing than winning the Triple Crown. Each of the three races involved is a major event in and of itself – including the Preakness Stakes, which promises to be a very interesting race this year. It’s also the last of the Triple Crown races for 2020, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Saturday, October 3 is the big day at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, and Preakness Stakes betting odds are already on the board at Bovada Racebook.
Granted, it would have been nice to see Tiz the Law attempt what would have been the third Triple Crown in six years. But after winning the Belmont Stakes (shortened this year to 1 1/8 miles), Tiz the Law came in second behind Authentic at the Kentucky Derby. Authentic paid out at +800 to win, making trainer Bob Baffert a six-time Derby winner to tie Ben Jones for the record. Can they do it again now that Authentic is on top of the Preakness stakes betting lines?
2020 Preakness Stakes Favorites
The Kentucky Derby wasn’t that dramatic an upset in retrospect. Tiz the Law (trained by Barclay Tagg) may have been undefeated as a three-year-old heading into that race, but Authentic wasn’t too far off; he won the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes, finished second at the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, then took down the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes before coming up golden at Churchill Downs. That makes Authentic a worthy +150 favorite on Bovada’s 2020 Preakness Stakes odds at press time.
Tiz the Law didn’t perform poorly in his second-place finish, but he’s not the second favorite at Pimlico; Art Collector (trained by Thomas Drury Jr), also undefeated as a three-year-old, gets the nod at +350 after missing the Kentucky Derby with a nick on his left front foot. Then it’s Tiz the Law and Honor A.P. (trained by John Shirreffs) with the same odds for Preakness Stakes glory at +500.
Why such relatively long odds for Tiz the Law? It’s because there’s a very good chance he’ll skip the Preakness and focus on the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is just around the corner on November 7. Honor A.P. is likely to do the same, so keep your eyes on both the odds and the newswires, and see if you can still grab either horse at +500 or longer if either trainer changes course.
2020 Preakness Stakes Value Odds
Assuming for now that Authentic and Art Collector will be battling for the win, there are still two horses tied at +1000 on the Preakness Stakes 2020 odds who have a reasonable chance at victory. Thousand Words, another Baffert trainee, is well worth a look despite rearing up at the Derby paddock and falling over on his side, forcing a late scratch. The ungraded Shared Belief Stakes winner was reportedly unharmed, and is considered “probable” to appear at Pimlico.
Joining him at +1000 is Rushie, easily the biggest wild card on the Preakness Stakes betting list. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Rushie is coming off a Derby Day win at the Pat Day Mile, following third-place results at the Santa Anita Derby and the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. There’s no word just yet on McCarthy’s intentions going forward, but Rushie could be the right choice when you bet on the Preakness Stakes trifectas and superfectas.
2020 Preakness Stakes Long Shot Odds
The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans is usually the shortest of the three Triple Crown races at 1 3/16 miles, so there’s more room for the long shots to defy the Preakness Stakes betting odds and pull out a surprise victory. Shirl’s Speight (trained by Roger Attfield) is an intriguing choice at +4000 after breaking his maiden at Woodbine Racetrack and winning the Grade 3 Marine Stakes; the Marine is usually the final prep for the Queen’s Plate, but the Preakness is said to be a goal for Attfield – Shirl’s Speight is not in the field for Saturday’s big race at Woodbine.
Dr Post (+3300) can’t be overlooked, either, after trainer Todd Pletcher decided to skip the Kentucky Derby and run in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes instead. That fourth-place finish was a bit disappointing, though. The field for Pimlico is still very much in flux, so keep checking in with Bovada Racebook for the latest odds on the Preakness Stakes, and stay healthy.
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