Preakness Betting Verdict: Max Player

Our new staff writer J.N. Campbell has been busy putting together his thoughts for each of the 11 runners for Preakness 145. Our racecard is embedded below where you can join any of our betting partners and underneath you'll find his thoughts on the horses bolting from Gate #8 - Max Player.

My Rating Scale:

• Muy Caliente (For the Win…)
• Sneaker Award (Shot to Upset or Chance to Hit the Board)
• Snowball in Hell (Not Much of a Chance)

Morning Line Odds: 15-1

Max Player is the third entrant from the Steve Asmussen barn. He will be the only hopeful that ran in the Belmont, Travers, Derby, and now the Preakness.

Oh, the days when Thoroughbreds ran back week to week. Now we are in a new age where calls for the Triple Crown to be moved to later in year makes more sense, so 3-year-olds can mature longer. Sounds like poppycock to me. I am a traditionalist…I digress.

Back to Max Player, he has a shot in the Preakness for sure because in all those races he rated well, and clearly had the speed to compete. Getting Paco Lopez helps, even though Ricardo Santana had more experience with him. I also like the fact that this will be Asmussen’s second race with him after Max left the barn of Linda Rice right after the Travers in early August. Maybe this is a spot to exploit, and we know offspring of Honor Code can handle the distance. I see him in a similar position, odds wise, to around 20-1 by post time. He might be one to put in your exotics. 

Chance: Sneaker Award