Preakness Stakes Picks

The 2013 Preakness Stakes is just around the corner. It’s time for me to make my picks on which horses will win, place and show at the second leg of the Triple Crown. Orb won the Kentucky Derby with a late charge to win by 2 1/2 lengths. To no surprise, Orb is now the favorite to win the Preakness Stakes at 10/11 odds.

While Orb has a great shot at winning this Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, there have only been eight horses in the last 16 years who have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. It happened last year with I’ll Have Another after previously occurring in 2008 with Big Brown.

Picking the winner of these Triple Crown races isn’t an easy task. Just six of the nine horses scheduled to race this Saturday participated in the Kentucky Derby, so don’t expect to see the same race we saw at Churchill Downs. Another thing that you have to keep in mind is the Preakness Stakes is 1/16 of a mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby. This race generally favors the speed horses rather than the closers.

A big reason that Orb is such a prohibitive favorite in the Preakness has to to more with which horses are not in this race rather than which ones that are. Key competitors like Normandy Invasion, Verrazano and Revolutionary will not run in the Preakness as their trainers focus on getting these horses ready for next month’s Belmont Stakes. Another is the fact that this will only be a nine-horse field as opposed to the usual 14.

I have used my horse racing knowledge to come up with my win, place and show picks for the 2013 Preakness Stakes. I believe that Orb is the best horse in the field, and that will show on Saturday. However, I look for Governor Charlie and Goldencents to represent the biggest threats to Orb’s quest for to become the first Triple Crown Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

My 2013 Preakness Stakes Picks

• Win – Orb (10/11)
• Place – Governor Charlie (10/1)
• Show – Goldencents (8/1)

About the Author: Jack Jones has been ranked in the Top-5 on the Overall Leaderboard for almost all of 2012 here at Betfirms. He has climbed as high as No. 2 while competing against roughly 80 of the best handicappers in the world. He finished as the No. 6 Ranked Basketball Handicapper from 2011-12, which combines pro and college hoops. His $1,000/game basketball players cashed in $22,310 last season. Head on over to Jack's premium pick page to see what he has in store for tonight!