Handicapping the 134th Preakness Stakes

The list of the horses you should be keeping an eye on before turning on the racing action from Pimlico tomorrow…

#2 Mine That Bird (6-1): Everyone loves the Derby winner, and why not? It may have been the first non-maiden race victory of his career, and could become one of the most unlikely horses ever to run for the Triple Crown at the Belmont in a few weeks should he win again on Saturday. He’s going to need to do it with a new jockey aboard though, as Calvin Borel, who guided Mine That Bird into the perfect position at Churchill Downs, will be riding Rachel Alexandra.

#3 Musket Man (8-1): Musket Man looked like he had a real shot of winning the Run for the Roses before Mine That Bird made his move. He ended up finishing third in the race, but many handicappers think that this could be the race the winner of both the Tampa Bay Derby and the Illinois Derby really strikes it big. Jockey Eibar Coa must believe his has a potential winner in Musket Man, as he turned down the chance to ride Big Drama in the Preakness.

#6 Friesan Fire (6-1) No one in the Friesan Fire camp is going to want to talk about his 18th place finish in the Derby. This horse simply has no excuses for not performing well on Saturday. His father, AP Indy, has blood lines to the great Secretariat. Not only is his pedigree simply awesome, he had been one of the hottest horses in the field coming into the Derby with three straight wins in smaller races in Louisiana to his credit. This is a great price for a horse that was touted heavily in the Derby.

#8 General Quarters (20-1) General Quarters is an interesting horse and could spring a huge upset if given the chance. Much like Friesan Fire, this horse has a fantastic pedigree, as both AP Indy, Unbridled, and Unbridled’s Song are in his lineage. He won the Blue Grass and finished a respectable 5th at the Tampa Bay Derby before finishing 10th at Churchill Downs two weeks ago. He never found himself in an ideal position in the Derby though, and would love to get the chance to be up on the pace at the outset of the race instead of getting shoved into the middle of the pack like he did at the Derby. If he can find a way to make a clean break out of the #8 hole, General Quarters could be dangerous.

#9 Pioneerof the Nile (5-1) Bob Baffert simply knows how to train horses. With jockey, Garret Gomez aboard, Pioneerof the Nile finished second best to Mine That Bird at the Derby, but was clearly good enough to win the race. It was simply a case that Pioneer of the Nile, much like the rest of America, never saw the #8 horse coming and didn’t know how to react when the colt went by him. Baffert’s prized three-year old had won four straight races before finishing as the runner-up at Churchill Downs, and should be considered a huge threat to Mine That Bird tomorrow afternoon.

#13 Rachel Alexandra (8-5) No filly has won the Preakness since 1924, but Rachel Alexandra is the favorite to do so on Saturday. She absolutely destroyed the seven-horse field in the Kentucky Oaks by over 20 lengths, and now turns her attention to the boys. Jockey Calvin Borel shunned the chance to run for the second leg of the Triple Crown on Mine That Bird to stay aboard the filly that he called a “once in a lifetime horse.” She should get a clean break on the outside and will be with the pace before trying to make her move in the final few furlongs.