Preakness 146 Entries & Post Positions: Derby winner Medina Spirit is in the field
Well the Post Position Draw for Preakness 146 is now finally in the books - a day after it was initially planned.
In case you missed the news, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test at Churchill Downs and officials at the Maryland Jockey Club were weighing up what to do about the horse and his stablemate Concert Tour, both of whom were pointed to this race.
Well entries are in and official and the lineup for Preakness 146 is below along with some initial thoughts...
- Post Position
- Horse
- Morning Line Odds
Post Position
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
Horse
- Ram
- Keepmeinmind
- Medina Spirit
- Crowded Trade
- Midnight Bourbon
- Rombauer
- France Go De Ina
- Unbridled Honor
- Risk Taking
- Concert Tour
Morning Line Odds
- 30-1
- 15-1
- 9-5fav
- 10-1
- 5-1
- 12-1
- 20-1
- 15-1
- 15-1
- 5-2
Well after 48 hours of intrigue and suspense - Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit is in the field of ten announced for Preakness 146. The Bob Baffert trained three-year-old - along with his trainer - has been the punchline of many a joke on the Late Night talk shows across the networks following failing a drug test after that win under the Twin Spires just over a week ago.
I won't get into what has happened over the past 48 hours in this piece and will choose to focus on the race itself and the horses who are set to battle it out for the second race in the Triple Crown series. We'll have plenty of commentary elsewhere on the site.
All last week as several potential contenders were pointed elsewhere, it looked pretty clear that the two Baffert runners would be the heavy favorites. Concert Tour skipped the Derby following a dispiriting run in the Arkansas Derby where the son of Street Sense came home third when he went off as the heavy favorite. The initial thought at the time was that he was set to bypass the Preakness as well but a good couple of breezes - no doubt helped by the lack of a dominant horse being pointed to the race - ensured he would be one of the top horses entered. He's been drawn in the outside Post.
As for the talk of the Late Night shows - Medina Spirit will break from Post Position 3. Most people reading this will know he's an outstanding front-running horse. He's yet to be overtaken following the race settling down after the break. Both Concert Tour and him have a similar style so it would be no shock if whoever got into the lead early went on to taste victory.
Bob Baffert has lifted the Woodlawn Vase seven times. The previous two have been with horses who went on to win the Triple Crown. Clearly Medina Spirit has a chance at following suit but I don't think many fans of the sport would think he was in the same class as Justify or American Pharoah.
The Baffert duo though aren't the only two horses in the field - despite what the column inches may indicate.
Most watchers of the sport will not have been overly impressed by the NYRA Road to the Derby but Chad Brown sends Withers winner Risk Taking down to Maryland along with stablemate Crowded Trade - who hit the board in both the Gotham and Wood Memorial.
Michael McCarthy's Rombauer is one that I'm thinking could go well. Taking victory at the El Camino Real Derby over at Golden Gate Fields isn't much to write-up about but a third-place finish behind Essential Quality and Highly Motivated was a really good result. This son of Grade I winner Twirling Candy is not a horse to ignore when looking at the field.
D. Wayne Lukas has won the race seven times as a trainer but is unlikely to make it eight this year. His three-year-old Ram has superb genetics but taking eight races to break your Maiden is not what you'd expect from a top quality horse.
If you are looking to bet on a potential winner outside of the Baffert duo then the trendy (and correct) play will be Steve Asmussen's Midnight Bourbon. The son of Tiznow hit the board five times on the Road to the Derby including a win in the Grade III Lecomte. I would not be surprised if sentimental money was wagered on him as fans try to bet against the Baffert duo. He has Post Position #5 and is one to pay plenty of attention to. Irad Ortiz Jr. gets the ride.
France Go De Ina has been flown in from Japan for trainer Hideyuki Mori. He has plenty of buzz surrounding him heading into the UAE Derby but he finished a lowly sixth. If he puts it all together then he has a shot but he'll be tough to back.
Keepmeinmind and Unbridled Honor round out the field.
Our custom Race Card is below where you can click on the odds and bet with any of our betting partners...
We'll have full coverage of the race on our Preakness hub (linked to below) including profiles of all the entries by Wednesday evening, Morning Line odds, any sign-up offers from our betting partners and all the race previews for the Preakness and under-card races across Friday and Saturday...
Terms & Conditions
#AD New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.