Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is on course to become just the 12th winner of the Triple Crown after crushing a weak field in the 133rd Preakness Stakes. Big Brown went off as the 1-5 Preakness betting favorite and paid $2.40 to win. He now will go through Belmont Stakes betting on June 7th and try and complete horse racing’s Triple Crown. He will be heavily favored to do so.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux had such an easy trip in the Preakness that he actually pulled up Big Brown in the stretch to save him for the Belmont. He still won by 5 1/4 lengths.

Macho Again finished second, while Icabad Crane finished third. Racecar Rhapsody was fourth and was followed by Stevil, Kentucky Bear, Hey Byrn, Giant Moon, Tres Borrachos, Yankee Bravo, Gayego, and Riley Tucker. Behindatthebar was scratched on Friday.

"I know we have horse left," trainer Rick Dutrow said. "There's no question. Kent never hit him with the stick, from what I could see. Kent maybe asked him for a sixteenth of a mile to put the race away, and then he glided to the wire. I'm under the impression he's going to be awful tough to beat in the Belmont."

More than 100,000 fans were on hand at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland and were pleased with Big Brown’s win. Big Brown was such a big favorite in Preakness betting that he actually paid more to place than to win. He paid $2.60 to place and $2.40 to show.

Behindatthebar was scratched on Friday for Saturday's Preakness Stakes because of bruise in his left front foot. Trainer Todd Pletcher said that the horse did not gallop well on Friday and a bruise was found. Behindatthebar will now be pointed to the Belmont Stakes on June 7th instead.

All of the horses outside of Behindatthebar will move one post position closer although their program numbers will not change. It just means each horse with post positions #6 through #13 will start one post closer in Saturday’s race.

In other Preakness betting news, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has approved sending the signal of races Friday and Saturday to sites in Florida which temporarily lifts the blackout. This was an issue because Florida horsemen have not reached an agreement with Calder over a purse contract. Calder simulcast signals all over the state and without Maryland’s horsemen’s approval there would have been no wagering on Friday or Saturday from horse players wagering at sites in Florida.

The 2008 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 17th is all about Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. The Preakness almost always has the Derby winner heavily favored and that is again the case this year.

Sometimes the Derby winner is favored simply because they won the Derby while other times they are favored because they are a serious Triple Crown threat. Big Brown falls into the latter category.

He will go off at odds-on in Preakness wagering and may fall below the morning line odds of 1-2.

Is there any horse that can present a serious threat to Big Brown in Preakness betting?  Let’s take a look at each of the horses in the 13-horse field and their chances on Saturday.

#1 – Macho Again (20-1) – The horse had a nice win in his last race in the Derby Trial but is going longer in the Preakness. If he can handle the distance he could get into the picture.

#2 Tres Borrachos (30-1) – This horse has already been trounced by Yankee Bravo and Gayego and really doesn’t belong.

#3 Icabad Crane (30-1) – This is the only horse that has ever run over the Pimlico track. Is that enough to make this horse a contender?  The answer is probably not.

#4 Yankee Bravo (15-1) – For some reason the morning line odds on this horse are 15-1. He should be in the 30-1 range with the rest of the non-contenders. He had a slow win in the California Derby and is not bred to make this distance.

#5 Behindatthebar (10-1) – This horse is going to be overbet. That is hard to say when he is listed at 10-1 but that is reality. He won the Lexington but that was on Polytrack and not very impressive. He has Todd Pletcher as the trainer and that is about his only positive.

#6 Racecar Rhapsody (30-1) – The only positive for this horse is that he is a closer and that could matter in a race full of speed. He probably won’t win but he could be somewhere close and finish 3rd or 4th.

#7 Big Brown (1-2) – The Preakness is his race to lose. He towers over this field in terms of numbers. He could bounce and still win this race. That is how poor the field really is. Many people think the Kentucky Derby field was weak but this Preakness field is soft other than Big Brown and Gayego.

Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown will go off as the Preakness odds favorite on Saturday as he looks to win the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. Big Brown will break from post position #7 and he has morning line odds of 1-2.

The 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday will have a field of 13 horses.

The only other horse in the field with morning line Preakness betting odds of less than 10-1 is Gayego who is listed at 8-1. Behindatthebar is the third choice in the morning line odds at 10-1.

Behindatthebar is in post position #5 while Gayego is in post position #12.

Preakness Wagering Field

1 Macho Again (Julien Leparoux, 20-1)
2 Tres Borrachos (Tyler Baze, 30-1)
3 Icabad Crane (Jeremy Rose, 30-1)
4 Yankee Bravo (Alex Solis, 15-1)
5 Behindatthebar (David Flores, 10-1)
6 Racecar Rhapsody (Robby Albarado, 30-1)
7 Big Brown (Kent Desormeaux, 1-2)
8 Kentucky Bear (Jamie Theriot, 15-1)
9 Stevil (John Velazquez, 30-1)
10 Riley Tucker (Edgar Prado, 30-1)
11 Giant Moon (Ramon Dominguez, 30-1)
12 Gayego (Mike Smith, 8-1)
13 Hey Byrn (Charles Lopez, 20-1)