Big Brown heavy favorite for Preakness

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/14/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is the prohibitive 1-2 favorite for Saturday's 133rd Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The colt will face 12 other three-year-olds in the $1 million, 1 3/16 mile race.

Post-time for the Preakness Stakes is 6:15 p.m. (et) and will be televised on NBC.

Owned by IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr., Big Brown is undefeated in four career starts, having won the races by a total of nearly 34 lengths. For Saturday the three-year-old will again be ridden by Kent Desormeaux and the pair will start from post seven. Desormeaux won the 1998 Preakness aboard Real Quiet.

Big Brown, trained by Maryland-native Rick Dutrow, Jr., has earned $2,076,700 this year and better than $2.1 million overall. Prior to his commanding Kentucky Derby victory he went wire to wire to win the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

A victory on Saturday would put Big Brown just one win, the Belmont Stakes, away from becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner and the first since Affirmed in 1978.

Arkansas Derby champ Gayego is the only other Kentucky Derby horse to be entered in the second leg of racing's Triple Crown. The colt failed to fire two weeks ago and finished 17th in the 20 horse field.

Gayego, owned by Cubanacan Stables and trained by Paulo Lobo, is 8-1 in the morning-line and will start from post 12 with jockey Mike Smith. Smith was aboard Prairie Bayou when the colt won the 1993 Preakness Stakes.

Gayego began 2008 by winning the San Pedro Stakes and then finished second to Georgie Boy in the San Felipe Stakes. In his career he has won three of six starts for $723,420.

Hey Byrn is the only starter to have a win at the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles. He accomplished that by winning the Holy Bull Stakes in his last start. For Saturday Hey Byrn is 20-1 in the morning-line and will be ridden by C.C. Lopez from the far outside post.

Owned by Beatrice Oxenberg and trained by Eddie Plesa, Hey Byrn was a distant fourth to Big Brown in the Florida Derby. The colt has won four of eight career starts for $266,000.

Derby Trial winner Macho Again is 20-1 in the program with Julien Leparoux set to ride from the inside post. Dallas Stewart trains for West Point Thoroughbreds.

Macho Again was sixth in the Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds in January and was seventh to Adriano in the Lane's End Stakes. The colt has won three of eight lifetime starts for $143,761.

The late running Yankee Bravo may benefit from a fast pace on Saturday. Trained by Paddy Gallagher, Yankee Bravo is 15-1 in the morning-line and has drawn post four and will be ridden by Alex Solis. The veteran jockey guided Snow Chief to victory in the 1986 Preakness.

Yankee Bravo won the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields in his first start of the year. He then was third to Pyro in the Louisiana Derby and fourth in the Santa Anita Derby to Colonel John. The colt has earned $247,052 with three wins in five lifetime starts.

Expected to be at or near the lead in the Preakness is Beau Greely's Tres Borrachos. The gelding, 30-1 in the program, will break from post two with Tyler Baze in the saddle.

Tres Borrachos set the early pace in the Arkansas Derby and El Camino Real Derby, his last two starts where he finished third both times. He began 2008 with a fourth place result in the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds.

Co-owned and trained by Greely, Tres Borrachos has won once in a seven race career with earnings of $159,200.

Lexington Stakes winner Behindatthebar is 10-1 in the morning-line and will start from post five with rider David Flores. The colt is owned by Padua Stable, Michael Shustek, and W. Don Stanley, and trained by Todd Pletcher who is looking for his first Preakness victory.

Behindatthebar has won his last two starts after finishing fifth in the El Camino Real. He has earned $277,100 with three wins in five starts, all this year.

Giant Moon will be making his first start away from New York on Saturday. The New York-bred colt is 30-1 in the program and will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez from post 11.

Trained by Richard Schosberg for Albert Fried, Jr., Giant Moon is coming off a fourth place finish in the Wood Memorial. He was ninth in the Gotham Stakes following his season opening win in the Count Fleet Stakes.

Giant Moon won all three starts as a two-year-old and has career earnings of $223,535.

Icabad Crane is the only Preakness starter with a race over the Pimlico surface. He won the Federico Tesio Stakes last month to stamp his ticket for Saturday.

Owned by Earle Mack, Icabad Crane is 30-1 in the morning-line and will start from post three with Jeremy Rose again in the saddle. Rose guided Afleet Alex to a memorable win in the 2005 Preakness Stakes.

Icabad Crane is trained by Graham Motion and is the winner of three of four career races for $125,400.

The always dangerous Riley Tucker will break from post 10 with Edgar Prado riding. The colt is 30-1 in the program for owner Zayat Stables and trainer Bill Mott.

Riley Tucker is coming off a third place finish in the Lexington Stakes after being the runner-up in the Transylvania Stakes, both at Keeneland. He began the year in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn where he was sixth, the only time he was out of the money.

He has earned $161,100 in seven lifetime starts with one win, three seconds and two thirds.

Owner Robert LaPenta and trainer Nick Zito have entered Stevil as their representative in this year's Preakness. Zito won the 1996 Preakness with Louis Quatorze.

Stevil is 30-1 in the program and will be ridden by John Velazquez from post nine. The colt has just one win in six career starts for $95,865. This year he was fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes and fifth in the Louisiana Derby.

Jockey Robby Albarado goes after his second straight Preakness victory with Racecar Rhapsody. Albarado won the 2007 race with eventual Horse of the Year Curlin. Racecar Rhapsody is 30-1 in the morning-line and will start from post six.

Trained by Ken McPeek, Racecar Rhapsody has finished fourth in his last three starts which include the Lexington, Lane's End Stakes and Delta Downs Jackpot. He has one win in six lifetime races for $148,391.

Lightly raced Kentucky Bear is 15-1 in the morning-line and will start from post eight with jockey Jamie Theriot. Owned by Bear Stables, Kentucky Bear will be making only his fourth career start on Saturday with one win and a third place finish.

The chestnut colt is trained by Reade Baker and is coming off a solid third place finish behind Monba in the Blue Grass Stakes. He was seventh in the Fountain of Youth Stakes after winning his first career start in January. He has $100,200 in winnings.

Here the entire field for the Preakness Stakes in post position order: Macho Again 20-1 Julien Leparoux; Tres Borrachos 30-1 Tyler Baze; Icabad Crane 30-1 Jeremy Rose; Yankee Bravo 15-1 Alex Solis; Behindatthebar 10-1 David Flores; Racecar Rhapsody 30-1 Robby Albarado; Big Brown 1-2 Kent Desormeaux; Kentucky Bear 15-1 Jamie Theriot; Stevil 30-1 John Velazquez; Riley Tucker 30-1 Edgar Prado; Giant Moon 30-1 Ramon Dominguez; Gayego 8-1 Mike Smith; Hey Byrn 20-1 C.C. Lopez.

The weather forecast for Saturday calls for partly cloudy conditions and a post-time temperature near 70.