134th Running of the Preakness - Battle of the Sexes
by Dave D
Horse racing betting fans are excited as the Preakness lines are finally posted. After the Kentucky Derby, it was supposed to be another wide open field for the second jewel of the Triple Crown but a real wild card has been thrown into the mix.
Racing betting fans were looking forward to seeing Mine That Bird to be posted among the favorites but that is not the case. Usually, the Derby winner is expected to be the favorite but Mine That Bird – a 50-to-1 underdog at the Derby – isn’t really considered a serious threat for the Triple Crown.
The wild card for the Preakness will be a filly named Rachel Alexandra, who didn’t run for the roses but is now the favorite at Pimlico.
Rachel Alexandra originally wasn’t supposed to be part of any of the Triple Crown races as her original owner had no plans to put her in those races.
But after Rachel Alexandra dominated the Kentucky Oaks – at a speed that would have likely given her the Kentucky Derby win, had she entered – she was quickly sold to new owners who had who have big plans for the filly.
Rachel Alexandra is pretty hot heading into the Preakness. Not only did she win the Kentucky Oaks, she’s won her last five races overall. More importantly, she’s won all of those races in dominating fashion. In those five races combined, she’s won by a total of 43.5 lengths, which is astounding.
History will not be on Rachel Alexandra’s side, though, as she – as mentioned – is a filly. It has been a little while since a filly won the Preakness as no filly has won the race since 1924.
But there are some real prospects to win because of the field. There is no Big Brown-type of horse this year that is expected to run away with the Preakness, which means the field is open. As a matter of fact, the field is so open that a 50-to-1 favorite won at the Derby.
Rachel Alexandra looks like a shoe-in winner at the one million dollar Preakness Stakes so much so that the jockey that was going to ride on Mine That Bird opted to ride Rachel Alexandra instead.
It will be a battle of the sexes as this female horses matches up against the boys but in this particular race, the boys don’t match up.
