2009 Preakness Stakes odds and contenders

Just a few days left until the start of the 2009 Preakness Stakes, the perfect time to look at the betting odds and the top contenders for the 134th run at the Pimlico racecourse. We will start by looking at the 2009 Preakness Stakes odds and then take a closer look at the top contenders in the second leg of the Triple Crown. And just as we predicted late last week when the opening odds on the Preakness came out, there are quite a few changes in the betting numbers.

For the 2009 Preakness Stakes odds we go to one of the best offshore racebooks, Bodog Sports (official website), the bookie also boasting another great bonus offer for bettors looking to get some action on the 2009 Preakness. The 2009 Preakness Stakes favorite contender remains Rachel Alexandra with 3/2 odds to win the race on Saturday. It's actually a good change for those of you who are looking to bet on the favorite filly, whose odds opened last week at 1/1. Rachel Alexandra is holding a racing record of 4-4-0-0 and has pursed graded earnings of $756,914. What truly made Rachel Alexandra the favorite Preakness Stakes contender is the fact that jockey could be Calvin Borel, who made the switch from the Derby winner Mine That Bird to the winner of the Kentucky Oaks 3-year-old filly; and yes, Borel rode both of the winners to fame. Calvin Borel holding the reins and Rachel Alexandra trained by legendary Steve Asmussen quickly made the filly the odds-on Preakness Stakes favorite. If you are going to be on the Preakness, however, keep in mind that Rachel Alexandra is still listed as pending for the race and that Calvin Borel is not 100% guaranteed that he will be the jockey, although he already said that if given the choice to ride either, he would go with the Kentucky Oaks winner.

And as expected, more and more people are now betting on the Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. The odds on the 3-year-old to win the Preakness Stakes this year went from the 9/2 a few days ago to now 15/4. It's also very likely that the 2009 Preakness Stakes odds on Mine That Bird will continue to shorten as the race draws closer each day. One thing is for sure, though, the majority of the lucky bettors who took the 50/1 odds on Mine That Bird to win the Derby have wasted no time to bet on this top Preakness Stakes contender to win the 134th Preakness Stakes run, as well. The major question mark here remains Calvin Borel. While Mine That Bird has already been confirmed as 2009 Preakness Stakes contender, Rachel Alexandra is still pending. If the filly does not participate, Borel will be holding the reins of Mine That Bird, which should immediately drive down the odds and payout on the colt to almost nothing.

The rest of the top 2009 Preakness Stakes contenders are also very familiar to the horse racing fans. Pioneer of The Nile comes third on the betting sheets at Bodog Sports with 5/1 odds to win the Preakness, no difference from the opening odds on this contender last week. On the other side, the odds on Friesan Fire to win the 2009 Preakness Stakes have slumped in the past couple of days. As one of the favorite contenders to win both the Preakness and the Derby earlier this month, the odds on Friesan Fire went from the opening 6/1 down to his current 15/2 payout to win the Saturday race at Pimlico Racecourse. Musket Man also saw lack of interest this week, the odds on the colt went down from 6/1 to his current 8/1 to win the Preakness, the same odds are posted on Papa Clem.

Here is probably the right time to mention that there will be no 50/1 odds surprise at the Pimlico this year. After we noted last week that the opening odds on the Preakness underdog Tone It Down were at 45/1 it seems a lot of folks decided to give the underdog a shot, hoping for a repeat from the Derby. This interest has driven the odds on the underdog contender Tone It Down to 30/1, same as the odds on Luv Gov. So at best bettors will get 30/1 payout if we have another underdog winning one of the Triple Crown legs this year. Here is the full list of the 2009 Preakness Stakes odds as posted at Bodog Sports:

Big Drama - 18/1
Flying Private - 20/1
Friesen Fire - 15/2
General Quarters - 9/1
Luv Gov - 30/1
Mine That Bird - 15/4
Musket Man - 8/1
Papa Clem - 8/1
Pioneerof The Nile - 5/1
Rachel Alexandra - 3/2
Take The Points - 22/1
Terrain - 25/1
Tone It Down - 30/1

Published on 05/12/2009