3 horses to watch at the Preakness Stakes
Now that a clear favorite's emerged for the 142nd running of the Preakness, here are three horses to keep an eye on Saturday (odds in parentheses):
Always Dreaming (4-5)
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Always Dreaming is considered the horse to beat, and for good reason: His triumph in the Kentucky Derby was impressive, and he continues to show signs of improving. What turned people off him was his behavior in the morning; he was so hyper and hard for his exercise riders to control, punters thought that negative energy would zap his stamina for the biggest race of his life. Wrong.
The colt, part-owned by Florida Panthers owner Vinnie Viola, continues to show the same zip in his step at Pimlico in Baltimore, and trainer Todd Pletcher couldn't be happier. Pletcher has never won the Preakness, but he was a longtime assistant for icon D. Wayne Lukas, who has won the middle tier of the Triple Crown six times.
Since 1875, 35 Derby winners have gone on to win the Preakness.
Gunnevera (15-1)
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Gunnevera was an outsider in the Derby and finished seventh, but he's got a better shot at the Preakness. The cutback in distance to 1 3/16 miles should suit him, and reports on the ground in Pimlico say he looks better than he did prior to the Derby.
What’s most intriguing about Gunnevera is his jockey, Mike Smith. (Javier Castellano rode Gunnevera in the Derby, but Castellano will ride Cloud Computing in the Preakness.) Smith is known in racing circles as "Big Money Mike" because of his penchant for upsetting on long shots in big races. He is a Hall of Fame rider with nerves of ice on the grand stages.
However, Smith's record in the Preakness is not stellar - he's only won it once, aboard Prairie Bayou in 1993.
Lookin at Lee (10-1)
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No one gave long shot Lookin At Lee much of a chance in the Derby. How could they? He drew the No. 1 spot at the gate, a hole that had not produced a top-three result in 19 years; coming into the Derby, the colt had not won a race since August 2016, and didn't really even deserve a chance - he only made it in because other horses who earned more qualifying points defected.
But Lookin At Lee outran his odds and overcame both his post position and doubters about his place in the race, finishing a fast-closing second to Always Dreaming in the Run for the Roses at odds of 33-1. Lookin At Lee won't be such a long shot Saturday.
His trainer, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, has won the Preakness twice - with Curlin in 2007 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009. The following year, Lookin At Lee's sire, Lookin At Lucky, denied Super Saver a Triple Crown run by taking the Preakness. Perhaps his son can follow in his footsteps.