Michelle Yu's Guide to the Preakness Stakes
We asked our VIP Manager Michelle Yu for her thoughts on Saturday's second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. The race has a post time of 6.45pm ET. The race will be shown live on NBC, with many of the undercard races also shown on NBC and NBC Sports from 12pm ET. You can also watch the race live on our website or iPhone App.New players to BetAmerica receive a 100% bonus on top of their first deposit and can bet the Preakness Stakes easily online or via the BetAmerica iPhone App.
| Post | Horse | Odds | Jockey | Michelle's Thoughts |
|---|
 | Cherry Wine | 20-1 | Corey Lanerie | Trainer Dale Romans has won this middle jewel before and has been able to point Cherry Wine in this direction knowing he would be excluded from the Derby. It would be a special win for Romans as he trained the colt's sire, dam and dam's mother. Third in the Bluegrass last out, this late bloomer comes from behind and that may be a problem because Nyquist will be up front and he hasn't shown any quit. |
 | Uncle Lino | 30-1 | Fernando Perez | Won the California Chrome last out at Los Al but has chased the best of the West all year. Moght be good enough for a minor placing but I prefer others. Trainer Gary Sherlock says he has matured in his last few but he will have needed to get faster too. |
 | Nyquist | 3/5 Fav | Mario Gutierrez
| No doubt that Nyquist is the real deal. Even if he gets beat here he has proven more than enough to silence his doubters. What it comes down to is this colt is a racehorse. We have had back to back Derby victors take the Preakness and I think the streak continues. The value might lay underneath. |
 | Awesome Speed | 30-1 | Jevian Toledo
| Awesome Speed looks to be in a little over his head here. A winner by DQ last out his lone tryin graded stakes company left him in the dust. Hes a pass for me. |
 | Exaggerator | 3-1 | Kent Desormeaux | With rains forcasted for the weekend the Brothers Desormeaux are smiling becuase this colt has run his best races in the mud. He is 0-4 against Nyquist and his backers will think that the possible mud fest can close that gap. But bettors beware: no Derby runner up has come back to take the Preakness since Prairie bayou in 1993. |
 | Lani | 30-1 | Yutaka Take
| Actually ran better than I anticipated after his bizarre training and obvious attitude problem. Will still need to take a gigantic step forward as his 9th place finish in the Derby won't be good enough here. |
 | Collected | 12-1 | Javier Castellano | While on paper this Bob Baffert trainee seems to be moving in the right direction, have the right running style and the right connections, it appears to me he just isn't fast enough He is the Gun Runner of the Preakness. Minor awards only. |
 | Laoban | 30-1 | Florent Geroux
| A maiden couldn't do it in the Derby and I don't think one will get it done in Maryland. He should be up front and could make it interesting taking them along early but I think he's outclassed here. |
 | Abiding Star | 30-1 | JD Acosta
| Another pace presence this Parx shipper brings in 5 in a row winning by nearly 20 legnths combined. He is also a son of Uncle Mo and likes to up close and personal to the pace. This will be a class test, a distance test, a heart test and a field size test and I don't have confiendce he can ace any of them. |
 | Fellowship | 30-1 | Jose Lezcano | Couldn't make it into the Derby so they opted for the Pat Day MIle on the undercard. He was a lackluster fourth and I am surprised Mark Casse decides to go here with him. Since his maiden win he has only 1 win against restricted company to his credit. |
 | Stradivari | 10-1 | John Velazquez
| Here could be the real challenger to the crown. Since being allowed to route this son of Medaglia D'Oro has annihilated 2 fields. Pletcher hasn't had a Preakness stater since 2011 usually chosing to skip this leg so the fact that he is bringing in a lightly raced horse with no stakes experience means he is liking this colt. For me he is a use even though he will not be a great price. |
Michelle's verdict
It's really hard to get away from the top two in the betting, they have been the best two colts in California, then were clearly the best two in the Derby and, although unoriginal, I'm going for Nyquist and Exaggerator to be the top two, in that order, yet again in the Preakness. If you are looking to play a longshot to hit the board I'd suggest Cherry Wine.
