Preakness Stakes odds are all about speed. Many handicappers that consider Preakness Stakes betting only consider the speed factor for this second race in the Triple Crown. Is speed the most important factor?
Preakness Stakes odds usually favor the winner of the Kentucky Derby winner. Sometimes that horse is a speed horse but oftentimes he is not. What is important when it comes to speed is tactical speed. The horse doesn’t have to lead wire to wire to win in the Preakness. He does need to be within striking distance though. The Preakness is not the Derby or the Belmont and closers rarely come from the clouds to win.
What is also important along with speed is form. If a horse didn’t race in the Kentucky Derby it is unlikely they are going to win in Preakness Stakes betting although there are exceptions as there was last year when Rachel Alexandra won the race. In the last 20 years, about 9 out of 10 Preakness winners came from the Derby. Many times they won the Derby but even if they didn’t, they were in the race. If a horse is good enough to enter the Preakness he should have been entered in the Derby although last year was a rare case when the best horse in the Preakness was a filly who didn’t run in the Derby.
Preakness Stakes odds are known for being all about speed but it should be noted that only 1 in 5 winners in the Preakness have gone wire-to-wire. In the last 20 years it is 1 in 10. The race may be shorter than the Derby but it is still tough to lead a race throughout.
Preakness Stakes betting is a bit different than the Kentucky Derby because the race is shorter. That means stamina is not as much of a factor as it was in the Derby or as it will be in the Belmont. That Dosage Index that people look at doesn’t mean much in the Preakness. More important factors than stamina in this race are speed and recent form.
Speed gets much of the attention in the Preakness but history has shown it is not as much of a factor as you might think. You shouldn’t bet the speed horse in the Preakness simply based on that factor alone. Speed is nice but it simply doesn’t win as often as you think in the Preakness.
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