The COVID-19 pandemic has turned professional sport on its head in 2020, and the world of horse racing has been no exception. Normally, the Triple Crown takes place over three races between the first weekend of May and the middle of June, increasing in distance from the Kentucky Derby through the Preakness Stakes and culminating with the Belmont Stakes. This year, the Belmont Stakes ended up happening first, followed by a delayed Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes but ended up finishing in the wake of Authentic at the Kentucky Derby, ensuring that there would be no Triple Crown winner. Tiz the Law will sit out the Preakness, resting for November’s Breeders’ Cup.
Take a look at our sports betting thoughts about Saturday’s odds for the Preakness Stakes.
Horse Racing News:
2020 Preakness Stakes: Early Bird Predictions from XBet
| Odds to Win | |
| Authentic | +125 |
| Art Collector | +350 |
| Swiss Skydiver, Thousand Words | +1000 |
| Happy Saver | +1200 |
| Pneumatic | +1600 |
| Mr. Big News, Mystic Guide | +1800 |
| Jesus’ Team | +2000 |
| Dr Post | +2200 |
| Liveyourbeastlife | +3300 |
Authentic is the favorite for a reason — he won the Kentucky Derby, pulling away in the stretch and holding off Tiz the Law’s charge to win the race. The fact that Tiz the Law will not run at Pimlico, since the Triple Crown is not a possibility, means that Authentic stands alone above the rest of the field — at least in terms of Triple Crown results.
Art Collector is the second choice right now despite having had to miss the Kentucky Derby. Art Collector was on the entry list at Churchill Downs but had to scratch late with a foot injury. In a normal year, Art Collector might not even have qualified for the Kentucky Derby, with just one win in five career starts. However, he changed trainers this spring, going with Thomas Drury Jr., and on May 17 (normally two weeks after the Kentucky Derby), Art Collector won an allowance-optional claiming race, closing from a seven-length deficit a half-mile in to win by 2 ¾ lengths.. After that, he won three straight ungraded stakes races. He won the Blue Grass Stakes (Grade II) by 3 ½ lengths, getting the 100 points that made him a Kentucky Derby qualifier. We haven’t seen him and Authentic together on the same course in a graded stakes, so this could turn into an interesting duel on Saturday.
Swiss Skydiver will become the 56th filly ever to enter a Preakness Stakes. Five of her predecessors have won, with Rachel Alexandra the latest to pull it off, in 2009. Trainer Ken McPeek waited until after Swiss Skydiver’s workout on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs to confirm her entry. McPeek had also considered the Spinster (Grade I), on October 4, for Swiss Skydiver’s next race ahead of the Breeders’ Cup. Her Saturday workout saw her breeze five furlongs in 1:00.80, with splits of 12 seconds, 23.60, and 35.80. Her six-furlong out time was 1:13.80. She has won four graded stakes races in 2020 and came in second at the Kentucky Oaks on September 4.
Thousand Words is another intriguing horse. He went five furlongs in 1:00.60 on Saturday, with splits of 11.80, 36 flat, 48.20 and a six-furlong out of 1:13.60. He was set to run in th Kentucky Derby but then flipped in the paddock and was scratched from the race. His trainer, Bob Baffert, has had seven horses win the Preakness, a tie for the record by a trainer with Robert Wyndham Walden, whose record has stood since 1888.
