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1 day ago
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The 150th running of the Preakness Stakes is Saturday with a 7:01 p.m. ET post time at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism ended up finishing second in that race to Sovereignty, who won't be running in the Preakness. That means the hope of a Triple Crown this year has been dashed.
Journalism is again the morning-line favorite at 8-5 in a nine-horse field, but those odds will likely shorten as we get closer to the race.
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Yahoo Sports spoke with Lane Gold, host of Kentucky's Winners Circle, to preview the favorites and long shots in the race, as well as get a few bets he likes.
The favorite
No. 2 Journalism (8-5): "He lived up to his hype, basically, in the Kentucky Derby. He was beaten by a better horse in Sovereignty, but beat everyone else, so his price of 7-2 was certainly fair. He has a much easier task ahead of him now. He’s not going to be as far back this time around. He could be the odds-on favorite without the Derby winner in the Preakness field. He’s still one of the best 3-year-olds in the country and most of the other horses are unproven at this level. The rest of them have to prove they belong. Everyone’s gonna have to step up their game to catch him."
Other horses to watch
No. 7 Sandman (4-1): "He ran a decent race at the Derby, but still finished 12.5 lengths back. He had a terrible trip on a wet track. It’s hard to win the Derby or be competitive when you’re next to last to begin the race. Basically, the race becomes a throw-away. The price here is probably going to be about the same for the Derby. He’s the only other horse who has competed against this caliber of horses, but he’s only won a third of his time in his career. If he winds up being 3-1 or 4-1, that’s a short price in a race that may not favor a horse coming from way back — which is his MO. He’s a challenge to take at that short price."
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No. 8 Clever Again (5-1): "Another horse that’s on the rise. Steve Asmussen gave him some time off (six weeks since he won at Oaklawn) and jockey Jose Ortiz jumped on this ride instead of Sandman. This horse is going to be your speed horse. I think he’ll be at 6-1 or 7-1, so that’s a fair price. He also has a lot of inexperience."
No. 1 Goal Oriented (6-1): "Bob Baffert is here with Goal Oriented, a horse that [has won both his races]. I don’t think Baffert is coming there for the atmosphere. He obviously thinks the horse has some talent — but he only has two races under his belt. Baffert thought enough of him to give him a shot, though. Will he go to the lead is the big question because he’s on the rail. That was his tactic in the Derby, and he was soundly beaten. You’re asking the horse to do a lot, since it's his third race in about six weeks. He’s here for a reason, but I'd let the odds dictate if he's worth a bet."
Best bet
"Journalism and Sovereignty were the two horses I liked going into the Derby, so there's no reason Journalism shouldn’t have success here. Journalism has won four of six races. A strike against him is the price, but it’s only a nine-horse field — not 12 or 14. If he has a clean trip, and you’d assume he will, he’ll probably be leading at the top of the stretch and it will be up to the other horses to try and catch him. I’d probably bet him on top of Sandman and River Thames. I’d even throw in Gosger for a bomb on the outside. I’ll take the experience here."
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