2012 Preakness Stakes Horse Racing Betting Preview

May 16 - All eyes will be on the Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another as the colt starts in the 2012 Preakness Stakes on Saturday May 19 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.

If I’ll Have Another wins the race then the excitement for the American Triple Crown will be sky high. The three races that comprise the Triple Crown are the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes in that order. But winning the Triple Crown is a rare affair.

Only 21 Derby Winners have Won the Preakness

In the over 100 years of history of these races only 21 Kentucky Derby winners have gone on to win the Preakness Stakes. And of these only 11 have gone on to win the Belmont Stakes and complete the Triple Crown. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978. Therefore it is easy to imagine the American horse racing fraternity to be on fire if I’ll Have Another wins the 2012 Preakness Stakes. Pandemonium will rule for the three weeks to the Belmont Stakes.

But the chances of I’ll Have Another pulling out a sensational win again are not that bright, even though the colt - at 14/1 odds in the Kentucky Derby - beat Bodemeister - who was the 4/1 favourite - by clearing a five length deficit in the final run to finish one and a half lengths in the clear.

The odds for the 2012 Preakness Stakes are not yet out at online betting sites like Sportingbet SA. However, Frank Carulli, the odds maker at the Pimlico Race Course, said that Bodemeister will start a Preakness favourite. I’ll Have Another will be the second choice for Carulli in terms of Preakness Stakes 2012 betting.

I’ll Have Another in Preakness Stakes

But the beauty of horse racing is that nothing can be taken for certain. I’ll Have Another definitely has his supporters and all those punters who want a Triple Crown Winner will also be backing him. I’ll Have another has Flower Alley as his sire and Arch’s Gal Edith as his dam. His career record is an enviable 6-4-1-0. He has won all three races run in 2012.

Meanwhile I’ll Have Another is training well in Baltimore under Doug O’Neill. O’Neill is extremely satisfied with his colt’s progress.

He told The Form, “I’ll Have Another came out of the race in fantastic shape. He galloped (Friday) morning and I loved the way he went. He’ll have that kind of gallop right up to the race.” The jockey, Mario Gutierrez, is equally thrilled. On winning the Kentucky Derby he had said, “He is an amazing horse. I told everybody before the first time I rode him, I knew he was the one.”

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