142nd Preakness Predictions
The 142nd running of the Preakness will be held on Saturday with a
much smaller field than the Kentucky Derby. Although I correctly picked Always
Dreaming (#4) to win the Derby two weeks ago, his amazingly low 4-to-5 line is
way too rich for me. While I believe Always Dreaming will run near the front
and finish in the money, I believe that Classic Empire (#5) will win the second leg
of the Triple Crown. Most experts feel
that these two horses have the only chance to win the Preakness; however, I also like a
long-shot, Conquest Mo Money (#10) at 15-1 odds.
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| Classic Empire |
Best Pick: #5 (3:1) Classic Empire. Classic
Empire has a solid trainer in Mark Casse and a great jockey with Julien
Leparoux in the irons. Classic Empire was fourth in the Derby and was coming on
strong – despite being bumped numerous times throughout the race. Winner of the
Arkansas Derby earlier this year and winner of last year’s Breeder’s Cup Juvenile,
Classic Empire is a strong closer who will lie back and run down Always Dreaming
in the home stretch. If you believe in
smart horses, Casse says this is one of the highest intelligence horses he has
ever trained! I like Classic Empire to win the Preakness.
 |
| Always Dreaming, winner of the Kentucky Derby |
In the Money: #4 (4:5) Always Dreaming. Although Always Dreaming is not the next
American Pharoah, he is a horse on a hot streak. He has won his last four races (including the Kentucky Derby) by over 23 lengths. The Derby had too many horses and jockey John Velazquez
kept Always Dreaming out front on a wet track, so I believe that the 4:5 odds
are too rich for me. I just don’t believe he’s going to be headed to the
Belmont looking to win the Triple Crown – he's a good horse, but I think Classic
Empire will catch him before the wire because Conquest Mo Money will be pushing the pace.
 |
| Conquest Mo Money |
Long-shot:
#10 (15:1) Conquest Mo Money. This is my long-shot in
the Preakness Stakes field. Conquest Mo Money is the son of one of my
favorites, Uncle Mo. CMM is a hard charger out of the gate and has run strong this year - winning three races and placing
in two others. He looked like the winner until he was beaten down the stretch in the Arkansas Derby by Classic
Empire (I believe the same thing will happen in the Preakness). With a relatively unknown jockey, Jose Carreno, and Conquest Mo Money's owners having to pay a $150,000 supplement to race in the Preakness (since he was
not nominated to the Triple Crown series earlier in the year), he is clearly a long shot. Nevertheless, he is a very fast horse, who
will run near the front the entire race, and while I think he will hold on to third today - don't be surprised if this long-shot captures headlines.
Good luck!
