2011 Preakness Stakes Ante Post Betting Preview

The ante post betting markets for the second jewel of the American Triple Crown has been released by several European bookmakers and it appears as though the bookies expect a significant amount of volume to pour in on Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimeaux). At the time of this writing, the Team Valor-owned colt is trading at a 6/4 price tag with popular UK bookmaker Ladbrokes and when one thinks about the fact that this guy came out of the gate on Derby day at 30/1, you have to wonder whether he's even playable at this point.

I have a lot of respect for Animal Kingdom and I'm glad he won the Derby, not as glad as I would have been if Midnight Interlude (War Chant) would have won, but chuffed for a pleasant colt with interesting connections. Regardless, I cannot justify backing him at 6/4 under any set of circumstances and I acknowledge that this guy will probably go on to accomplish great things if they don't retire him after the Belmont.

Can Animal Kingdom win the race? Certainly. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win this contest at all, and I think he might even have a decent crack at the Belmont if he wins this one and is still relatively fresh. His father was a turf miler but there is still plenty of distance on the pedigree - probably more distance than there is dirt-reference and look what happened the other day? I would consider backing Animal Kingdom at 5/1 but with the prices available on some of the other contenders in this one (in particular several who either hit the board in the Derby or acquitted themselves relatively well considering the circumstances) you simply have to let Animal Kingdom run his race, wish him well, and try to beat him.

The big variable here for me is Dialed In (Mineshaft) who has a lot more incentive than anybody else as he comes into this one. This is the only contender who has a chance at taking home the much-vaunted Preakness 5.5 – a massive $5,500,000 payday that was introduced to add extra reason to run the Preakness. A contender must win a graded stakes contest and then win one of several high-profile prep races and then go on to run (and win) in the Preakness. I actually heard something about how he gets an additional $600,000 from the win pool for a total of over $6,000,000 for a single victory. That is a hell of a lot of money and this guy has every chance to win the race if he gets more pace to aim at and a more appealing trip than he got last time out.

At the moment, the European bookmakes have Dialed In at a hefty 6/1 price to win the race and I reckon he's going to take a fair amount of money on the day and will likely be first choice of those who think that Animal Kingdom is beatable here. There is a lot to like about Dialed In and he was just too far back early on to be a genuine factor in the reckoning on Derby day but didn't he rifle off his last furlong in 10 flat?

Just taking a look at the field and some of the running styles that will be on display here, there is definitely more chance of a hot pace and if he can find the outside at the right point in the race and get some momentum – he'll go off like a gunshot and become the richest three-year-old in history I believe.

Mucho Macho Man (Macho Uno) acquitted himself very well in the big dance and he's likely to line up in the gate on Preakness Day but there was a rumour circulating that he wasn't going to run in the Preakness but connections have made assurances that he's doing fine and is firmly pointed at Pimlico. Ladbrokes has him at 6/1 as well and he really could have gotten a bit more luck on May 7 – it likely would have been enough.