Firing Line’s Post Position Aids Preakness Odds; American Pharoah Favorite
After being awarded the coveted No. 8 post position, Firing Line has emerged as a strong 17-4 bet at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com on the odds to win the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
Much to the delight of trainer Simon Callaghan, Firing Line will start on the outside in a field that has been reduced to eight horses following trainer Todd Pletcher’s withdrawal of contenders Carpe Diem, Materiality, Stanford, and Competitive Edge earlier in the week.
Firing Line will enter Saturday’s running of the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course in search of just his second win in his last five races. The 3-year-old claimed victory in the Sunland Derby earlier this spring, but his second-place finish behind American Pharoah at the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago was his third in his last four races.
Not surprisingly, American Pharoah arrives at Pimlico as the 5-6 favorite on the Preakness Stakes odds at the sportsbooks.
The colt rewarded bettors at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, claiming victory at the Kentucky Derby as a favorite after starting from a difficult post on the outside of the field, and is now a plus-225 bet at the sportsbooks to become the first horse to win all three Triple Crown races in 37 years.
Things won’t get easier in Baltimore, where American Pharoah will start on the rail after being awarded the dreaded No. 1 post position at this week’s draw.
One of two horses in the Preakness trained by Bill Baffert, American Pharoah is positioned alongside stablemate Dortmund, who picked up the No. 2 post position.
Dortmund suffered the first defeat of his career at the Kentucky Derby, finishing third behind American Pharoah and Firing Line, but maintains strong 15-4 odds to claim victory on Saturday.
However, unlike American Pharoah, who sports identical -120 odds to either win or not win the Preakness in horse racing props betting, Dortmund sits at a long +375 to capture victory at Pimlico, and at -650 odds to come up short.
Rounding out the rest of Saturday’s field, Mr. Z will start from post position No. 3 at 25-1, alongside Danzig Moon, who owns 16-1 odds and has drawn post position No. 4. Tale of Verve is a 50-1 longshot starting from post position No. 5, while No. 6 Bodhisattva sits at a distant 40-1, and Divining Rod will start from No. 7 as a 16-1 bet.
Thumbnail photo via Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports Images
