2008 Preakness Stakes: Odds, Pimlico, post time, contenders (today)

2008 Preakness Stakes: Odds, Pimlico, post time, contenders (today) And here we are, only a few hours away from the post time of the 2008 Preakness Stakes, the best time for a final look at the odds on the Pimlico contenders. First and foremost, the Preakness Stakes post time is 6:15pm EST and the race will take place at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD and will be televised by NBC. According to the Weather Channel, the weather for the Preakness Stakes post time will be partly cloudy and the chances of rain are very small, looks like we will enjoy a speedy race.

There are just 12 contenders for the Preakness today, with Big Brown being the ultimate favorite to win the race. He has almost no competition, to the point where the online bookmaker BodogSports is offering betting odds on the 2008 Preakness Stakes without Big Brown in order for punters to have the chance to enjoy a bigger payout. Without Big Brown on the betting sheet (he was listed with odds 1/4 initially), Gayego is the favorite with odds to win the 2008 Preakness Stakes at 3/1. Gayego will start from post position No.12, son of Gilded Time out of a Lost Code mare has outrun by quite a bit his apparent speed pedigree, and, more importantly, has shown that he can leave the synthetic tracks in Southern California and win on the dirt, which he did in Oaklawn Park’s Arkansas Derby. Gayego finished a troubled 17th in the Kentucky Derby and originally counted out of the Preakness Stakes. Gayego's trainer is Paulo Lobo.

Following Gayego is Kentucky Bear with odds to win the Preakness Stakes 2008 posted at 4/1 at BodogSports. Kentucky Bear will start from post position No.8, finishing third in Keeneland’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes didn’t garner enough graded-stakes money to put Kentucky Bear into the Kentucky Derby, but that race and two bullet workouts at Keeneland since then have put him in line to tackle Big Brown in the Preakness Stakes. Kentucky Bear is trained by Canadian Reade Baker. The next challenger, closing the top three Preakness Stakes contenders, is Yankee Bravo, whose odds were upgraded to 11/2. Yankee Bravo will start from post position No.4 and has competed successfully on dirt surfaces and on a synthetic, winning the California Derby on a synthetic track with a well-timed rally through the stretch and finishing third in the Louisiana Derby with a similar late run on the conventional Fair Grounds surface. Yankee Bravo's trainer is Irishman Patrick (Paddy) Gallaghe.

Here is the full list of 2008 Preakness Stakes odds (without Big Brown), as posted at the online bookmaker BodogSports:

Macho Again - 6/1
Tres Borrachos - 20/1
Icabad Crane - 16/1
Yankee Bravo - 11/2
Racecar Rhapsody - 16/1
Kentucky Bear - 4/1
Stevil - 12/1
Riley Tucker - 16/1
Giant Moon - 16/1
Gayego - 3/1
Hey Byrn - 6/1

Published on 05/17/2008